Blue Moon Junior High
by ravengal
Summary: AU. In a world where Pokemon only exist in merchandising, May enters junior high, unaware that relationships will form... painfully slowly. Her best friends, Ash and Misty, will grow closer and she'll meet Drew for the very first time. PS, CS, others. [Discontinued. See Fawkespower123 for the continuation.]
1. Past and Future

Author's note: Ladies and gentlemen... allow me to introduce my first ever multi-chapter Pokemon story! I hope you enjoy it... and please note that I have made up the surnames of May and Drew.

**Chapter One: Past and Future**

"I can't wait 'til you move on up to junior high with us," Misty said over the video phone, smiling. "It'll be so much fun."

"Yeah," May replied, nodding, "it sure will."

Ash appeared beside Misty. "Hey, Mist, Mom said to tell you dinner's ready," he stated. "Hi, May."

"Hey, Ash," May replied, waving.

"Well, talk to you later, May," Misty said.

Ash took a big sniff of the air and a dreamy look crossed his eyes. "Yeah... 'cause I smell something delicious." Misty whacked him upside the head and he scowled at her. "Ow! What was that for?"

Misty scowled right back. "Food always has to come first with you, doesn't it? Anyway, see ya, May."

"Bye," May replied before both girls hung up and the screen went blank.

* * *

As ten-year-old May Styles sat down at the table of the nearest restaurant, menu in hand, she began to think about the future that awaited her. She was no longer in elementary school and was not yet in junior high... though she would be once the summer vacation ended.

Currently, she was spending two weeks in Hawaii with her father, Norman, her mother, Caroline, and her eight-year-old brother, Max. Once the vacation was over, she'd have just one week before joining Blue Moon Junior High.

Ash Ketchum and Misty Waterflower, her two best friends in the whole world, the former being eleven and the latter being twelve, already attended and were eagerly awaiting her arrival. Yes, they'd seen a lot of each other at their houses and such, but the time would soon come where they'd all be together at school again.

This led May to cast her mind back to when she'd first met them. It was her first week at Blue Moon Kindergarten and she was feeling awfully shy. Whenever someone tried to talk to her, she'd blush, look elsewhere and twiddle her thumbs, stumbling over her words. She met Misty when the red-head was 'it' in a game of hide and seek with around five other kids and had spotted her sitting alone on a playground bench.

"_Hi! I'm Misty!" she said cheerfully, sitting beside her._

_May blushed. "Uh, hi... I'm May."_

"_Are you new here? You don't look familiar."_

_May glanced at her twiddling thumbs. "Um... yeah, I... This is my first week."_

_Misty smiled. "Well, it's nice to meet you." There was a slight pause as Misty glanced around. "So, where are your friends?"_

_May blushed harder. "Well, I... don't have any."_

_Misty eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. "Oh, you poor thing..." Then she smiled. "Tell you what. How about you come and play with me? You can help me find everybody, 'cause we're playing hide and seek."_

_May looked Misty in the eyes, unable to believe what she was hearing. "Really?" Misty nodded, making May smile. "O-Okay then."_

May smiled at the memory. It was after they had successfully found everyone that Misty had introduced her to Ash, whom the red-head had met the year before. May didn't know the exact details, but they'd told her enough. Ash had started kindergarten, afraid of nothing and shooting off his big mouth, and Misty, who had heard him in the playground, had gotten annoyed with him and told him to shut up. This had let to an argument, plenty of tears from both children and a teacher forcing them to apologise and make up. The next day, Misty had gone back and asked if he wanted to play with her... thus, their friendship began.

Two years after May's arrival, Max started kindergarten and, by this time, the three friends were all in Blue Moon Elementary, May in second grade, Ash in third and Misty in fourth. No introductions were needed, of course, as they'd already met Max through trips to May's house. He was already a member of the pack and hung around with them at recess and lunchtime.

It was always a pity that the three of them had never shared classes, with them all being in different age groups, but that would never stop them being friends. They were companions for life... and always would be.

"May? _May_?" Max's irritated voice called to her.

May snapped out of her trance and looked at him. "Huh?"

"Are you gonna order some time today?"

May glanced up and noticed a waiter staring at her, a pad of paper in one hand and a pen in the other. "Oh!" May blushed. "Sorry... I'll just have the spaghetti bolognaise please."

* * *

Back at the hotel, May lay stretched out on her bed, the bottom bunk, while Max sat on the top bunk with his legs dangling over the edge, playing one of their many shared Pokemon games on their shared Gameboy Advance. It was difficult to tell which one it was, but May wasn't overly bothered anyway; she was thinking about the thing Ash and Misty had complained about almost every time the three of them had been together... a boy known as Drew O'Cadhla.

May knew what he looked like, since Ash had shown her his picture on a class photograph before (since Ash was in Drew's homeroom and a few of his classes, much to Ash's chagrin) and she had to admit, the boy was gorgeous. He had thick green locks draped over beautiful green eyes and he gave her the impression of a knight in shining armour searching for his damsel in distress. Unfortunately, what her friends had told her about him made her stomach churn. He may have been a 'super-strong girl magnet' as Ash had called it, but he was arrogant and conceited, believing himself superior to every other human being.

Misty had experienced this first hand when Drew was a newcomer to Blue Moon Junior High. She, like every other girl, had thought him irresistibly attractive and tried to catch his eye whenever he walked past. However, one day, when Misty was waiting for Ash outside his History class, since her Geography class had been let out first, Drew came out, surrounded by fangirls, and smacked straight into her. Automatically, not even thinking about who was actually in the wrong, Misty had muttered an apology, blushing... and his reply was to flip his hair, his fangirls glaring murderously at her, and say, "I wouldn't expect anything less from a klutz." Then he walked away, his fangirls laughing maliciously at her.

Since that day, Misty had hated Drew's guts, declaring almost every time May saw her how much she'd love to hurt him. Ash would always join in, though he would never give a reason for his hatred... although May found it obvious. First of all, Drew was extremely attractive and Ash was just average. Second, Drew had hurt his best friend's feelings. Third, Drew had initially managed to catch the attention of the girl he loved... Yes, May knew that Ash loved Misty; it was so obvious. She also knew that his feelings were reciprocated; that was obvious too.

May had never noticed anything going on until she was eight years old. Ash had been very upset because his chocolate Labrador, Rex, who'd been suffering from arthritis, had been put down. Misty, who'd been sick with the flu, hadn't been in to comfort him, so May did that herself. Ash had got a little too emotional because of her kindness and hugged her. Blushing, May had hugged him back, suddenly relishing the touch of his skin on hers. On that day, she'd developed a crush on him; his vulnerable side had won her over easily.

However, once Misty had finally returned and noticed how May flirted with Ash and had a constant need to stand and sit next to him, she got really annoyed and barely spoke a word to her. If she did say anything, it was one or two words, always spoken with an icy tone. That was when May had finally realised something; Misty had a thing for Ash too... but how long it'd been going on for she had no idea.

She'd decided to back off a little and observe them together... and her discovery was that Ash liked Misty the same way. He didn't have to tell her this... neither of them did... she just knew... and seeing her best friend happy and, possibly, in love made her happy. She even forced away her own crush on Ash because she knew what a perfect couple they'd someday make.

This brought Drew O'Cadhla back to mind. How ironic that his surname meant 'graceful' when, apparently, all he was was arrogant and proud. Then again, back in the days when Misty was crushing on him, she'd mentioned on more than one occasion how he was like a swan... beautiful, graceful and majestic. Now, however, Misty would always refer to him as a tiger... beautiful on the outside and deadly on the inside.

May chuckled and Max peered over the side of his bed. "What's so funny, May?" he asked, his game still blaring out a cheerful, yet somewhat annoying, tune.

"Oh, nothing," May replied, "just remembering something Misty told me once."

"Oh."

Max's head disappeared again and May heard the music change to a faster, more dramatic beat; he'd stumbled upon a wild Pokemon.

_How fun would life be if it was like a Pokemon game? _May thought. _I wouldn't have to go to school anymore... I could wander around the world catching Pokemon... Hmm... I've always preferred the contests to the gym battles, so I guess I'd just focus on the contests... Oh, wow, that'd be so cool._

"Yes!" Max called out. "I caught a Pikachu!"

May smiled. "Great. Which game are you playing?"

"Gold."

"Cool, then you can take it to Goldenrod and get a Pichu."

Max gasped. "I can? How?"

May rolled her eyes. _How can he not know this? _"Is the Pikachu male or female?"

"Uh... female."

"Well, you know that old man and woman that raise Pokemon for a price?"

"Yeah?"

"Give the Pikachu to the old woman and give the Ditto you caught the other day to the old man... then go for a long walk, come back and pick up the egg."

"Wow! Awesome! Thanks, sis!"

"Heh, no problem."

* * *

Far too soon for May's liking, the Styles family had boarded the plane back home and it was currently soaring through the clouds. Norman had headphones on and was watching the in-flight movie, Caroline was reading a book, May was playing Pokemon Ruby on the Gameboy Advance and Max was listening to music on their shared iPod. Currently, May was trying to win the Verdanturf contest with her Combusken. There was some tough competition, but she would never give up... not until she had that stupid ribbon.

"Hey, May," Max said from beside her, glancing over and pulling out one of his headphones, "wouldn't it great to train Pokemon for a living?"

"Mmm, it sure would," May replied, commanding Combusken to use Double Kick.

"I'd train to be the world's best gym leader." A dreamy look crossed Max's eyes. "What would you do?"

May looked up from her game. "I'd train to be the world's best co-ordinator... y'know, going into contests and winning ribbons."

"Cool."

"Um... so... what type of Pokemon would you train in your quest to be a gym leader?"

"Oh, definitely normal type." May raised an eyebrow at him. "What? They're cool! And they're hugely undermined. I'd be one to show the world just how tough they can _really_ be."

May chuckled and went back to her game.

* * *

_Well, the big day's next week, _May thought as she trekked around the shops with Ash and Misty, gathering supplies needed for junior high. _No more elementary school... but I'm having to leave Max on his own. I mean yeah, he gets to see me every day at home, but we've always been the ones to play with him and hang out with him. Well, now he'll have to spend more time with his other, younger friends._

Misty suddenly squealed. "Oh, my gosh! Look at that! Isn't it the cutest?" she shrieked.

May looked where Misty was looking... in the window of the most popular store in the area, Pokemon4Ever... at a light blue notebook covered in water Pokemon. There was a Marill, a Tentacool, a Lapras, a Staryu, a Horsea and a Totodile on the front cover.

"Come on! I've got to get that!" She rushed in the store and, with a glance at one another, May and Ash followed.

The store was full from top to bottom with Pokemon merchandise, from soft toys to school stationary, since the local fad going round was, of course, Pokemon. The store was also well known for its incredible efficiency. If what you wanted wasn't on the shelf, you could place an order for it and receive in a week, maximum, no matter what it was.

While Misty zoomed off to buy the water Pokemon notebook, May browsed around the store, separating herself from Ash. There were so many amazing things on the shelf... folders of all sizes and colours, covered in all kinds of pictures... many different types of stationary, each with its own colour and decoration... just nothing that reached out and grabbed her.

Suddenly, from the corner of her eye, she spotted a light pink notebook covered in Skitty pictures, where each Skitty was making a different pose, such as jumping into the air, curling up on a rug, firing a Blizzard attack etc., and, instantly, she fell in love with it. Plucking it off the shelf and tucking it under her arm, she continued to browse, immediately being drawn to the cutest pen and pencil set she'd ever seen; they were light purple with a Beautifly sitting on top of each one. Falling in love again, she grabbed them in her free hand and, looking over what else was there, suddenly spotted an Eevee sharpener and eraser set. She didn't exactly fall in love with them, but she thought they were pretty cute, so she grabbed them and made her way to the counter.

* * *

"Check out this notebook I bought," Ash said as he lifted it up. The cover was as black as the night sky with stars shimmering around a Charizard, a Blastoise and a Venusaur.

"Wow! Cool notebook!" Misty replied. "But it's nowhere near as cool as mine."

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

"Is too!"

"Is not!"

May sighed, slowly walking away. _Why don't they just kiss and be a couple, instead of putting me through this all the time? _she thought.

* * *

It was finally the night before the big day and May lay in her bed, staring out at the night sky. Tomorrow, she would start Blue Moon Junior High. She was both nervous and excited at the same time... but what did she have to worry about? She'd have Ash and Misty there. Then again, she wouldn't have them in her classes, due to the tiny yet significant age gap. She'd have to meet new people... make new friends... and the thought scared her a little.

_Oh, what am I worried about? _she thought stubbornly. _Ash and Misty helped boost my confidence by a huge amount over the years. If I want to make new friends, I can... quite easily._

"Hey, May?" Max said from across the room.

"Yeah?" May replied.

"Good luck tomorrow."

May smiled. "Thanks."

"You'll finally be in sixth grade. Be sure to tell me what it's like when you get back."

"Don't worry, I will." There was a pause. "Max?"

"Yeah?"

"Will you be, y'know... okay on your own?"

There was another pause. "Yeah... yeah, I'll be fine."

"That's good. Goodnight, Max."

"Goodnight, May."

May's last thought before she drifted off to sleep was, _Blue Moon Junior High, here I come..._


	2. Welcome to Higher Education

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Megaman-NG for putting up with my constant pestering and answering a lot of my questions to do with how a US school system works, since I'm English. I'm really sorry if it doesn't match anything you've ever known, but different US schools have different systems.

**Chapter Two: Welcome to Higher Education**

The Styles family car parked up at the side of Blue Moon Junior High and May gazed up at the building in awe. She then spotted Ash and Misty amongst the crowd, chatting away happily, Ash leaning against the wall and Misty standing in front of him.

"Well, here we are," Norman said from the driver's seat.

"Blue Moon Junior High," Caroline added, turning in her seat to smile at May. "You have a fun first day, okay, sweetie?"

May nodded. "Sure, Mom," she replied, climbing out of the car, her large Skitty notebook clutched to her chest and her stationary tucked away inside the tiny yellow bag around her waist. "See you later!"

"Bye!"

Once May closed the door behind her, the car engine roared and, just before her family, minus her brother, since he was still at home, zoomed out of sight, she waved goodbye to them. As soon as they disappeared, she took a deep breath; it was time to start the day.

As she turned and walked, she suddenly felt as though every eye was piercing into her skin... judging her... yet, every time she checked, she noticed no one was actually looking at her. She shook the thought from her mind; maybe it was just paranoia... new school and all.

"May!" Misty called out, jogging over, her notebook clutched to his chest. Ash followed suit, his own notebook under his arm.

"Hey, guys," May said once they were stood in front of her.

"How's it going?" Ash asked.

"Pretty good."

"How'd you get here?" Misty asked.

"My dad gave me a lift in the car."

"Nice."

Misty's smile suddenly vanished when she glanced over May's shoulder, being instantly replaced by a frown. Ash mirrored her expression and May wondered what they could possibly be frowning at. Curious, she turned... and noticed Drew stepping out of an expensive silver car with tinted windows, flipping his hair and saying goodbye to whomever was driving before closing the door.

Once the car drove off, him not even bothering to turn round and wave, he made his way up to the school, hands in his pockets. May glanced at Misty; it seemed the girl was trying desperately not to lash out at him as he approached.

May glanced back to see him casually stroll past, glancing at her from the corner of his eye for a brief second before glancing away again, walking over to the building and leaning against the wall 'cool guy' style. It wasn't long before girls started to congregate round him.

Misty scoffed. "Look, his fangirls are round him already," she sneered. "I'll bet he's _loving_ the attention."

May couldn't help but look again; it didn't quite seem to fit that a boy like that, who'd walk past everyone, his hands in his pockets, would love fangirl attention. She squinted over and discovered him trying to waft them off, scowling and speaking words she couldn't hear, and one girl went into a frenzy and ran off, crying. Well, looks like she was right.

* * *

"So... what lessons are you gonna pick, May?" Ash asked.

They were all sitting cross-legged on the grass, leaning the forms they had just got from the councillor's office on the notebooks in their laps, pens in hand, deciding what their lessons for the year would be. May was having an especially hard time, since she was the newcomer.

"I dunno," May replied, scratching her head with the end of her Beautifly pen. "I've always liked Drama, 'cause I get to act and have fun... and I like Art, 'cause I get to draw things, which is a hobby of mine anyway..."

"Well, pick them then," Misty said, ticking a box.

"What'd you just tick?" Ash asked, leaning over.

Misty swiped her form away. "Geography."

Ash stared at her. "Again? I thought you didn't like it."

"I _do_ like it. I just never liked Mr. Jefferson... but, now that he's left, it'll be more fun." Ash rolled his eyes. "And I'll definitely be taking Childcare again too. I love taking care of the little baby dolls. As for French, I'm dropping that, 'cause it's too hard."

"Well, what are you taking instead?"

"Hmm..." Misty stared at the options on her form. "I've been thinking about this for a while now... and I've decided to take I.T."

Ash nodded. "Nice choice. I'm taking History, Music and Woodshop again."

Misty smirked. "You just _love_ the electric guitar, don'tcha?

Ash smirked back. "It's only the greatest thing since the discovery of America."

Misty shook her head, chuckling, before turning to May. "Decided what _you're_ doing yet, May?"

"Mmm, I think so," May replied, ticking three boxes. "I'll take Drama, Art and Sewing."

"Not bad... and, of course, we also get English, Math, Science and P.E... making a total of seven subjects for the year."

May giggled. "Should be fun."

* * *

After handing their completed forms in to the principal's office, Ash, Misty and May were free to roam the school grounds in place of first period and talk to other students. Ash and Misty were very keen to say hello to some of the friends they'd made in the time they'd already spent at junior high.

While Ash chatted with some boy with spiky dark green hair called A.J., May noticed another boy with short brown hair and bright blue eyes scoot over to Misty's side, blushing and fidgeting with his fingers. Once Misty noticed his presence, she blushed herself, though edged away slightly... causing May to raise an eyebrow.

_Looks like Misty has an admirer,_ she thought, _but why didn't she tell me? I mean, looking at him, it's obvious that he likes her... and, by the look of Misty's face, I'm guessing she knows it too... but could she like him too? Is that what the blush is about? Or is it that she's a little embarrassed about him crushing on her?_

"Hi, Giorgio," Misty said pleasantly.

"H-Hi, Misty," Giorgio replied, staring at his left shoe, which was scuffing the floor.

"Um... how are you?"

"I'm... good thanks. W-What about you?"

"I'm good too." Shyly, he smiled up at her.

"Giorgio, there you are!" Suddenly, a girl with long purple hair and brown eyes, clad from head to toe in black and yellow baseball gear, appeared at Giorgio's side. "Are you flirting with Misty? Shame on you!" Then she lifted up the baseball bat she was holding and clobbered him upside the head. "I told you I'll have _none_ of that anymore!"

"Oh, hi, Casey," Misty said, eying the situation carefully. "Why did you just hit Giorgio?"

"Because he and I are a couple now, although he still likes to talk about you as if you're the daughter of Zeus!"

Misty's mouth fell open. "_Huh_? You're a _couple_? When did _that_ happen?"

Giorgio rubbed his sore head. "At the last baseball game," he explained. "I won two tickets and-"

"He wanted to take _you_ along," Casey intervened, scowling, "but, since I happened to be in the right place at the right time _and _was a major baseball fan... he invited _me_!"

"And we just sort of... hit it off... Aheh..."

Misty blinked a couple of times in sheer confusion, then a large grin spread across her face. "Well, congratulations. I hope you two are very happy together."

A defeated smile appeared on Giorgio's face before his girlfriend whacked him over the head with her baseball bat again. May chuckled; the sight was pretty amusing to watch.

Then something caught May's eye. A girl she recognised from elementary school with short reddish-brown hair and piercing green eyes called Brianna was walking by. Turning her head, May noticed where she was heading... straight towards Drew, who was lying on his back on the grass not too far away. The girl had a furious blush on her face.

_Drew? _May thought. _How come I didn't notice him __before__ now?_

Brianna was standing next to Drew, saying something only he could hear. He looked at her for a few seconds, then rolled over onto his side, facing away from her, muttering something back. The girl, looking horror-struck, walked away, her head hung low.

_Aww, poor Brianna... Hmph, Drew really __is__ a jerk, from the looks of things..._

* * *

Finally, the morning was over and everyone had collected their timetables from the principal's office. Ash, Misty and May stood together while they examined their own and each other's.

"Hmm... well, it seems my first lesson of the year is I.T.," Misty said cheerfully. "I'm in... room fifty-one."

"I've got Science first," Ash said, "and it's in room... two."

"I've got... _P.E_?" May asked, staring at her timetable. "Oh no, I didn't bring a gym kit!"

"It's alright," Misty assured her. "I really don't think they'd have expected you to bring it on your first day."

"Yeah," Ash added, "I mean, how were _you_ supposed to know you'd be doing P.E. first?"

May sighed. "I guess..." she replied, "but I still think I should've brought it just in case."

Misty shook he head. "Don't worry about it," she said. "Come on. I'll show you where the girls' locker room is."

May smiled. "Thanks."

"I'm gonna head off to the Science rooms," Ash said, turning and walking away. "I'll see you guys at recess! Meet you outside!"

"Okay, see ya!" Misty called out.

"Bye!" May called out.

* * *

Not a terribly exciting first lesson, but May had fun nonetheless. Since barely anyone had brought their gym kit in, the class had moved to an empty classroom to watch a workout video and take notes if they wished. Now, that was all well and good, but a cheesy workout video from the sixties? No one could resist laughing whenever someone on-screen said anything... not even May.

"Quiet!" the gym teacher, Miss Henderson, scolded. "I know this video's a little outdated, but it contains everything you need to know for next week's lesson."

"And _stretch_ those legs!" the woman on-screen screeched and the class burst out laughing. "Stretch 'em _real _good! That's it! Now... _stretch_ the arms! All the way _round_ the body! Good! You're doing _great_!"

* * *

Eventually, the lesson was over and May was sitting on a bench in the yard, Ash on her right and Misty on her left.

"So, how was your first lesson of junior high, May?" Misty asked.

"It was good," May replied. "We just watched some cheesy workout video and took notes on it."

"Uh oh," Ash said, "not the dreaded cheesy workout video." May and Misty burst out laughing.

May stopped laughing as soon as she spotted Drew, leaning against a wall some distance away, his hands, once more, shoved in his pockets. His thick green follicles were draped over his eyes, but he didn't seem to care too much... although, May supposed, he may have wanted it there to keep fangirls away. The problem was, any girl within a mile could easily tell it was him; there was just something about him that... stuck out in a crowd.

Misty noticed her staring at Drew and scowled at her. "Oh, don't even go there telling me _you've_ fallen for him too," she said icily.

May spun round. "Huh?" she asked. "Oh! No, of course not!"

"Hmph... well, from the way you were staring at him, I'd say otherwise."

"I wasn't staring at him! I was... casually observing him." May told herself not to blush, but the blood rushed to her face anyway.

"Mmm hmm, _sure_ you were."

"I was!"

"Hey, cool it, you two," Ash said coldly.

May looked at her male friend, realising that he still couldn't help but feel jealous of Drew, despite the fact that he didn't like him.

* * *

A short while later, Ash and Misty were arguing across May about the 'proper' way to fight a battle on a Pokemon game. Ash was arguing that the best way would be to knock the opponent dead with offensive moves and Misty was arguing that the best way would be to be strategic and use defensive moves.

May had learned over the years just to tune them out and let them argue; after all, trying to stop them was like trying to stop a hurricane by throwing yourself in the swirling winds. Anyway, May had other things on her mind... like Drew. He seemed to love being on his own, yet fangirls would follow him everywhere. She glanced off to the side; there he was, still leaning against the wall, with girls all around him, yet not a single other boy anywhere nearby.

_Are all other boys jealous of him like Ash is? _May wondered.

Glancing other places, she noticed a few boys were shooting him death glares before angrily turning away or storming off, dragging their girlfriends away. Looking at the girls, however, the majority seemed to be transfixed with the boy, dreamy expressions on their faces.

May tilted her head to the side; junior high sure did seem different to elementary school. For one, she'd never seen anything like this; a single boy obtaining such an enormous amount of attention from such an enormous number of girls.

Snapping back to reality, May suddenly realised that Ash and Misty had stopped arguing and were moodily staring off in opposite directions. May shook her head, raising her eyes to the sky.

_What is it with these two? And how come Max still hasn't noticed anything going on between them? Well... at least I don't __think__ he has... I mean, he's never mentioned anything..._

Looking at each in turn, May asked, "So... you guys never said... what did _you_ do in your first lesson of the year?"

"Just a few quick quizzes on the computer to check we know everything," Misty replied, still staring in the direction of the toilets.

"What about you, Ash?"

"I answered a book load of questions on forces," Ash replied, still staring in the direction of the front gate.

"Mmm, that's nice." May was feeling awkward. Just what was supposed to say with them in this kind of mood? Instead, she just stared off into space.

Although, again, her gaze drifted back to Drew. Just what _was_ so gosh darned fascinating about him anyway? Ash hated him, Misty hated him... yet almost every other girl appeared to love him. True, there were a select few, such as Casey, who was whacking Giorgio over the head for staring at Misty, who seemed completely uninterested, but there weren't very many.

_Hmm... I wonder... is Drew really as he seems to be? Arrogant, conceited and self-righteous? Or is it masking something else? Some __other__ personality hidden deep within?_

May blinked and turned away. Just where the heck had _that_ thought come from? Maybe she was going delirious... Maybe that stupid workout video had messed with her mind somehow... She gave her head a shake; she had to get Drew off the brain.

_He's poisoning my mind... I've gotta think about something else... like my next lesson. _She unzipped her bag, pulled out her folded up timetable and unfolded it. _Hmm... English next... That should be good. I've always liked English... especially when we get to read books... and it's in room... forty-four. _

Folding her timetable back up, she placed it back in her bag and zipped it shut. A moment later, the bell rang and everyone began moving off to their lessons. Standing up, the three best friends walked together and May casually observed Ash and Misty begin to talk again. She smiled; so far, things had gone fairly smoothly... but what else was in store? Only time would tell.


	3. An Unpleasant Encounter

Author's note: Yay! The Drew meets May chapter! I tell ya, this one was a blast to write, though a little difficult in some places. I'm happy with it though. Contestshipping rocks!

**Chapter Three****: An Unpleasant Encounter**

Drew O'Cadhla wandered slowly down the Math corridor of Blue Moon Junior High, his head hung low to avoid attention and his hands holding his new books. After that last mind-exhausting lesson, he needed some nice alone time to relax and, fortunately for him, it was now lunchtime. On the other hand, it was also _un_fortunate, as lunchtime in this school seemed to be 'ambush Drew' time.

He sighed. What time in this school _wasn't_ 'ambush Drew' time? Why wouldn't girls just leave him alone? Yeah, sure, he was pretty attractive and he knew it... and when he first arrived, he'd loved the attention he got... but now, it was just irritating.

Stopping to lean against a wall, he went over the day in his mind. He'd had first period off to decide his lessons for the year, which were History, Drama and Cooking again, and been bothered by girls. He'd gone to his first lesson second period, which was English, and been bothered by girls. He'd gone to recess and been bothered by girls. He'd gone to his second lesson third period, which was History, and been bothered by girls. He'd gone to his third lesson fourth period, which was Math, and been bothered by girls. Why couldn't they leave him alone?

He scowled. They were all the same... all flirting with him to get him to fall madly in love with them... all proclaiming that they would one day marry him... Pathetic.

He smirked. Well, girls certainly had a way on making him feel king of the world, didn't they? Add to that the death glares the boys would shoot him constantly. He knew how jealous of him they were... and why wouldn't they be? He'd been born attractive, he'd grown up attractive and he would forever be attractive. That was just the way things were. Ever since kindergarten, girls had liked him; it wasn't something he could do anything about... not that he'd want to, mind.

He was suddenly distracted from his thoughts as another Math class to the left of him emptied. Most girls exiting the room spotted him and either blushed, waved or blew him a kiss and he rolled his eyes. Then, at the back of the crowd, he noticed the very same girl he'd seen earlier, dressed in red, white and yellow, wearing dark blue knickerbockers underneath her white skirt.

As she began to pass him, she turned in his direction and stared. It wasn't an 'Oh, my God, it's Drew' stare, nor was it a 'Hello, my future husband' stare; it was more like a calculating, questioning stare. Confused, he stared back as her walking slowed down. Unfortunately, she held the gaze too long and smacked into a large boy from his own year with blue hair and orange dungarees called Anthony. They both dropped their books from the contact, the girl also dropping her Skitty notebook. Drew smirked, biting back a laugh.

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" she said in what he thought was a very cute voice, picking up her books.

"It's alright," Anthony said, picking up his own. "I should've been watching where I was going myself." Finally, they were back to standing up, their books clutched to their chests. "Well, see ya." Anthony then edged out of the girl's way and walked on down the corridor.

Drew shook his head, still smirking. "You are such a klutz," he said, removing one hand from his books to flip his hair before putting it back. "Why don't you watch where you're going next time, instead of staring at me?"

* * *

May rounded on Drew. _So that's what he sounds like? _she thought. _Hmph... well, it's too bad such an obnoxious guy has such a nice voice. _"Don't flatter yourself," she said coldly.

Drew raised an eyebrow, the smirk still present. "Oh? You _weren't_ staring at me? Then what _were_ you staring at? The wall I'm leaning on?"

May felt the blood rush to her face. "Yeah... well... maybe I... _like_ walls!" In her mind, she slapped a hand to her forehead. _What was that?_ _'Maybe I __**like**__ walls'? Ugh..._

Drew chuckled. "_Sure_ you do."

May turned away, frowning. "I don't have time for this. I'm meant to be meeting Ash and Misty in the lunchroom."

"Well, I suggest you step on it then, instead of staring at walls."

"Hmph! Stop being such a jerk, Drew."

"Oh! You know my name?"

May turned back round to face him. "Well, yeah. Ash and Misty told me."

"Mmm, I'll bet they did. Well, then it's only fair I get to know what _your_ name is, don'tcha think?"

"Ha! Don't think so. You've got a better chance of... of..."

"Please. Don't finish that with 'pigs flying'. It's so overused, it's cliché."

May scowled. "Fine. You've got a better chance of my pet cat, Ginger, suddenly evolving into a Skitty."

"Hmm... original. Not terribly exciting, but original, I'll give it that."

By this point, May seriously wanted to rip her brown locks from their sockets. _He's driving me insane!_ she thought.

"So... why've I got no chance of knowing what your name is?"

"Because... because... why should I let a person my friends don't like know about me?"

"Oh? Ash and Misty don't like me?"

"Not in the slightest."

"I see." Drew flipped his hair again. "Well, then, you have an interesting point, Girl In Red. Why _should_ you let me know about you?"

May face tightened. "Exactly... but don't call me that."

"What? 'Girl In Red'?"

"_Yes_."

Drew shrugged. "Well, what else am I supposed to call you? Little Red Riding Bandana?"

May blushed again. _How is it humanly possible to want to slug a guy on your first meeting with him? Argh!_

* * *

Drew was loving this, plain and simple. He barely ever got this much excitement tormenting a girl by speaking to her like this... and he loved the challenge whenever it was lined up for him. He just couldn't help it; he had a habit of trying to wear down his opponent with witty remarks that would infuriate them.

Currently, he felt like a matador, waving the red flag in front of a bull, making it charge headfirst towards him before swiftly dodging out of the way. It was exhilarating... it was refreshing... He hadn't had this much fun since Misty had gone one-on-one with him a year ago for irritating Ash. He loved it.

"Y'know," he said, "I think you'd suit the name Jennifer. You just have that look about you."

The girl pulled a face. "Well, that's _not_ my name," she replied.

"Well, I _would_ call you by your real name, but guess what? I still don't know it." Drew stared intently into her eyes and she stared back just as intently. _Fantastic,_ he thought, _she isn't backing down._

"Hmph... and you're never _gonna_ know it either."

_I'm starting to like this girl. She's really keeping me on my toes here... which is a completely new experience to what normally goes on. _He continued to hold his gaze. _Hmm... she's quite pretty too, now that I think about it... plus the way her crystal blue eyes are shining in fury at me is quite cute. _"Is that so?"

The girl gritted her teeth together. "Yes, that's so!"

"Hmm... we'll see."

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean? If I don't want to tell you, I'm not going to tell you!"

Drew chuckled. "It'll be a nice little challenge, trying to find out what it is."

"Huh! What're you gonna do? Follow me around all year 'til you get it?"

"Y'know... that's not a bad idea."

"Argh! You're really irritating, y'know that?"

"It's been mentioned to me before."

"Well, then the people who mentioned it obviously didn't hammer the message hard enough, did they?"

Drew chuckled again, his eyes boring into hers as if daring her to go further. _Forget lunch... I'd rather stay here and do __**this**__ all lunchtime._

* * *

May stared hard into Drew's lime green eyes, trying hard not to blink. Why did he have to challenge her? And, for that matter, why did she have to go and rise to the bait? Her sensible side was telling her to ignore him and walk away, but her feminine pride was commanding her to stay put and battle this war out. After all, she'd been best friends with Misty for most of her life, so, of course, she'd picked up both her stubborn attitude and solid backbone.

_First I had to put up with P.E., English and Math and now this? _she thought. _What a great first day I'm having... jeez..._

Suddenly, May's stomach grumbled and she momentarily broke her gaze to scowl at it for betraying her. Drew cackled at her and she glared at him.

"Hungry, are we?" he asked.

_What, is that smirk __**plastered**__ on his face? It hasn't come off yet. What could he possibly find so amusing? _"Elementary, my dear O'Cadhla."

Drew raised both his eyebrows. "How cute... a term of endearment. I didn't know you cared."

May blushed crimson. "No, you idiot! It's-"

Drew's smirk returned. "A line Sherlock Holmes always uses? I know."

May glared at him. "Then why did you act like you didn't?"

"Why do you think?"

May gritted her teeth. "Why would I ask if I knew the answer?"

"Good question."

May was panting and tightening her grip on her books. God, he sure knew how to rile her up. "Why did you do it?"

"Why else? To annoy you."

"Argh! Why would you want to do that?"

Drew chuckled again. "'Cause it's so easy."

"Ugh... that's it! I've had enough." May began storming off down the corridor. Her feminine pride had taken enough hits to last a lifetime.

"Bye!" Drew called out cheerfully from behind her.

* * *

"What's wrong with you?" Misty asked as the three friends sat down at Ash and Misty's regular table.

"Nothing," May snapped back, snatching up her fork and stabbing hard at a couple of fries before thrusting them angrily into her mouth.

"Yeah right," Ash said, picking up his cutlery and gently cutting his sausage. "I wouldn't call trying to murder your food 'nothing'."

After swallowing her fries, May slammed her fork back on the table, shoved away her tray and thumped her elbows on the table, resting her head in her hands and heaving a deep sigh.

"May, what's wrong?" Misty asked again, currently ignoring her own cutlery for the moment.

"_Drew_," May spat as though the word itself was poison.

Ash groaned through a mouthful of sausage. "What's he done now?"

"He's just so... so... argh!" May clenched her fingers around her head.

"What's he done?" Misty asked, her expression deadly serious.

May sighed again. "I came out of Math and there he was, leaning on the wall."

"Uh huh?"

"And I guess I must've been staring at him without realising, trying to figure something out about him without actually talking to him."

"Yeah?"

"But I bumped into someone and we both dropped our books. When we'd picked them back up and the guy had left, Drew... Drew... ugh!"

Misty's eyebrows furrowed. "Did he say some horrible stuff to you?"

"Yeah... he just seemed to know the right thing to say at the right time to get me riled up... and I rose to the bait."

"Ugh, that Drew is such a jerk. I told you, didn't I? Didn't I warn you about him?"

"Yeah, you did... and you were totally right about him... and what was worse... was that he seemed to _enjoy_ annoying me."

Misty's expression softened for her friend. "I know. I remember going through the exact same thing with him sometime last year. The argument went on for ages."

May lifted her head to look at her. "What was the fight about?"

"Me," Ash said. Both girls looked at him. "His fangirls had been crowding round him and I'd got so fed up, I said, 'You think you're so hot, don'tcha?' and that got him insulting me, saying how I was just jealous because I couldn't attract a girl even if I pinned a neon sign to my shirt saying, 'Come and get it'."

By the end, Ash was clenching his fists and grinding his teeth together. May could tell just how much it must have hurt to have been told that.

"He wanted a fist fight with the guy, but I stepped in and had an argument with him," Misty said, smirking. "I think it put him in his place about that. He never did it again."

"But this wasn't really an argument," May said. "It was more of a... pointless banter."

Misty's smirk was replaced by a slight frown. "But it's still unacceptable."

"What was it about?" Ash asked.

"Well, it was mainly just random stuff, but, at one point, he was trying to find out what my name is." Ash and Misty both raised an eyebrow questioningly at her. "I added his name on the end of a sentence and he was surprised I knew it. He then said, since I know his name, he should know my name too."

"And you said...?" Misty asked.

"I refused to tell him. After all, my two best friends hate his guts, so why should I give him the privilege of knowing my name?" May smirked and Ash and Misty burst out laughing.

"Nice one!"

"What did he say to that?" Ash asked.

"Basically that he'd find out what it is any way he could." Ash and Misty exchanged glances. "What?"

"Well," Misty explained, "that's just not like him at all."

"Yeah," Ash added. "I mean, he's not one to waste his time finding out what a random girl's name is."

"Gee, thanks," May said, faking annoyance.

"You know what I mean. Anyway, usually, he'd just swap words with a girl, then say his goodbyes."

May turned to Misty. "But I thought you said he _loves_ fangirl attention."

"And I still think that," Misty replied, "but I know him enough to know that he rarely ever asks for the fangirls' names."

"Oh..." _What does this mean? _May thought, confused. _Why is Drew being different with me than any other girl? It just doesn't make sense... unless it's just because I gave him a thrill ride with that banter earlier. He did seem like he was having a blast... and I doubt he gets that from many other girls, since most other girls adore him. _

Suddenly, the bell sounded for the next lesson and the trio realised, with some horror, that their food was only partially eaten, so they had to shove it down their throats fast. Honestly, could anything else happen? It was only the first day and it had been the most chaotic of May's life...


	4. After School Chat

Author's note: I got stuck for a chapter title, so I asked Megaman-NG and this was what he came up with. I liked it, so I used it. By the way, I'm sorry it's mostly MSN chat, but I couldn't resist it. I'm only doing it this once, I swear.

**Chapter Four: After School Chat**

It had been a long and tiring day, but May was finally seated in the back of her family car, placing her pile of books neatly on the middle seat and clicking her seatbelt into place. A few seconds afterwards, Norman started up the ignition and began to drive away from May's school.

"So... how was your first day, May?" Caroline asked from the passenger seat, glancing at her daughter in the wing mirror. May heaved a sigh. "That bad?"

"It was okay." May replied. "It's just Drew that ruined it."

"Who?"

"Oh, just some boy in Ash's homeroom. He insisted on bantering with me until I was ready to rip my hair out."

"Ouch."

"No kidding."

"Well, what lessons did you have today?" Norman asked from the driver's seat, his gaze fixed on the windscreen.

"Um..." May pulled out her timetable and examined it. "Well, I missed out on Art, but the lessons I _did_ have were P.E., English, Math, Sewing and Drama."

"And did you enjoy those lessons?"

"Yeah, they were pretty good."

"That's good. Hey, isn't tomorrow your first morning in your homeroom?"

"Sure is... and I'm gonna try and talk to whoever I sit next to-"

"_Norman_, _watch it_!" Norman slammed his foot into the brake before the car screeched to a halt, jolting the entire Styles family forward.

"Maniac!" Norman shouted through his open window. "Watch what you're doing!"

The teenage boy with a shaven head he was yelling at turned his cap backwards, wound down the window of his convertible and leaned his elbow on the car.

"Sure thing, gramps," he replied, giving Norman a salute, a smirk on his face, before driving off.

* * *

Dumping her books on the computer desk, May planted herself on the 'spinny chair' as she liked to call it and pressed the button to load up the computer. Reclining back, she sighed, contended to finally be back home... and away from Drew, the obnoxious pig.

She scowled. Why did he have to be like that to her? He didn't even know her and he just had to get under her skin by tormenting her... and on her very first day, no less! She'd been looking forward to junior high for some time now, but now, because of him, she wasn't sure she was ever going to enjoy the prospect again.

As the computer completed its loading, showing a screen wallpaper of a waterfall surrounded by flowers of many different and beautiful colours, May dragged the cursor down to the tool bar and clicked on the MSN Messenger symbol. When the screen came up, she typed in her email address and password and clicked Sign In. She never kept it saved, just in case Max ever felt the urge to look at her email or speak to her contacts. Well, he did have his own, so why should she let him nose around hers?

According to the screen, she had no new emails, but Ash and Misty were online. She clicked on both, one after the other, and two windows popped up. Ash's window had a picture of a Pikachu, clenching its fists, its cheeks sparkling with electricity, with a green backdrop and Misty's window had a Togepi sitting on the ground, waving its hands, surrounded by love hearts and a pink backdrop. Clicking on Ash's window and displaying her picture of her fluffy ginger cat, Ginger, and his picture of all three of them pulling ridiculous faces, May began to write.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says:** hiya

Clicking onto Misty's window and displaying her own picture and Misty's picture of her black and white rabbit, Thumper, she wrote something there as well.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says:** hiya

Ash's window suddenly flashed orange, so she clicked on it.

**Don't steal. The government hates competition says:** hey

Misty's window then flashed orange, so she clicked on it.

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says:** hey

She went back to Ash's window.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says:** how u doin?

She then went back to Misty's window.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says:** how u doin?

Ash's window flashed orange, so she clicked on it.

**Don't steal. The government hates competition says:** fine. u?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says:** fine too

Misty's window then flashed orange, so she clicked on it.

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **gd thanx. u?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **gd too

Ash's window flashed orange, so she clicked on it.

**Don't steal. The government hates competition says: **you feelin better now that ur away from drew?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **yeah a lot better thanx

**Don't steal. The government hates competition says: **gd what u up to?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **nothing. just chattin to u and misty. u?

**Don't steal. The government hates competition says: **same really

She clicked on Misty's window.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **what u up to?

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says:** listening to music and chattin to u and ash. u?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says:** just chattin to u and ash

* * *

A while later, after Max had come home from school and his sister had had to explain the story about Drew all over again, May was still chatting to Misty online, Ash having gone, with Ginger curled up in her lap, purring contently, as she gently scratched her behind the ears. Suddenly, someone came online and there was a flash of orange. May clicked on it, displaying a background of a sleeping Vulpix with a light purple backdrop and a picture of Brock Peters and his girlfriend, Lisa, who had long black hair and an outfit similar to May's.

**Do you believe in love at first sight? Or should I walk by again? says: **hey there

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **hi brock

Suddenly, there was another flash of orange as someone else came online. May clicked on it, displaying a background of a Charmander, a Squirtle and a Bulbasaur with a sparkly blue backdrop and a picture of Tracey Sketchit and his girlfriend, Sakura, who had purple hair in pigtails.

**You're unique... just like everyone else says: **hi

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **hiya tracey

Suddenly, someone else came online and there was yet another flash of orange. May clicked on it, displaying a background of a Cyndaquil, a Totodile and a Chikorita with a grey backdrop and a picture of Gary Oak winking and flashing a peace sign.

**If you hate me, I love you too. It ain't my fault I'm better than you says: **yo may

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **hey gary

* * *

A short while of chatting later, after Brock and Tracey had disappeared offline, May's conversation with Misty began to get serious.

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **may I seriously think you should stay away from drew. hes bad news and hell only hurt you

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **what do u mean? of course im going to stay away from him!

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **sorry. it just looks like hes gonna bother u any way he can to try and find out wot ur name is

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **I know... but its not like theres anything I can say or do to stop him. if he finds me he finds me... and im sure he will

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **u don't like him do u?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **what! r u crazy? of course I don't like him!

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **I mean id kinda understand if u did coz he is quite nice-looking

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **ill admit he IS nice-looking but that's about it... hes a jerk

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **im just worried that it bothered u so much coz u like him is all

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **no chance

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **okay sorry

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **eh its alright

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **:)

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **so... what about u and ash? lol

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **... what about me and ash?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **oh come on... its obvious u like him right?

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **no!

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **yeah u do

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **hes a best friend nothing more

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **then why did u get so annoyed when I was flirting with him a couple of years ago?

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **u flirted with him? I didn't notice

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **yeah right. misty u do know that I wont tell anyone right? especially ash

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **... well okay... maybe I do like him... a little

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **a lot

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **fine a lot... but PLEASE don't tell him... it could ruin a perfectly good friendship

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **u really think id do that to u? cross my heart and hope to die I will not tell him anything

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **thanx may... btw do u think he likes me back?

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **definitely... tho itd be best if u asked him urself

"May!" Caroline called out from the kitchen. "Dinner's almost ready!"

"Okay, Mom! Be right there!" May replied.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **dinners almost done. gotta go... cya xxx

**If you were a princess, you'd look like me says: **k bye xxx

After clicking off Misty's window, May went back to Gary's window.

**What happens when he's your Prince Charming, but you're not his Cinderella? says: **gonna go have dinner now... bye xxx

**If you hate me, I love you too. It ain't my fault I'm better than you says: **okie dokie. cya may xxx

* * *

After polishing off her dinner and depositing her dirty plate and cutlery in the sink, May retreated to the bedroom she shared with Max to listen to some music on the iPod. Settling onto her bed, she grabbed the iPod off the cabinet positioned against the wall between the two beds, switched it on and placed the headphones in her ears.

There were two folders on the iPod, which were appropriately dubbed May's Music Folder and Max's Cool Music. Entering her own folder, she pressed play and placed the iPod down on her bed, leaning back against the wall and closing her eyes. Today had been a long day and she deserved a break.

Suddenly remembering she'd forgotten to ask Max about his first day in fourth grade, she let out a groan. She'd have to do that later. Right now, she just wanted to sit back, relax and enjoy the music blaring in her ears.

Well, tomorrow would be another day at her new school... which meant another day with Drew... unless she could find a way to avoid him completely. She'd just have to keep an eye out for green hair and take an instant detour if she spotted any.

She smirked. Wow, one day at junior high and she'd already found someone she didn't like. What were the odds of that? But... should she go out of her way just to avoid him? Or should she just grit her teeth and march straight past him, hoping against hope that he won't say anything?

She already knew what Misty would've said if she'd asked her that very question: march straight past him, holding her head up high. It was much better than attempting to avoid him all her life. After all, how was she supposed to live her life to the fullest if she was constantly on the run from a boy? Yeah, that made sense. Why should she let Drew ruin her life? She'd just have to grit her teeth and bear it.

* * *

A couple of hours of listening to music later, Max entered the bedroom in his pyjamas, which were dark blue. He sat on his bed and looked at May. She took this as her cue to pull out a headphone.

"I think it's time we got some sleep, don't you?" he asked.

May groaned. "Yeah... I guess..." she replied, turning off the iPod and placing it back on the bedside cabinet. "Oh, by the way... how was your day today?"

Max smiled. "Pretty good. I mean, it was a tiny bit lonely with you guys not around... but I managed okay. I even made a few new friends."

May beamed. "That's great!" She chuckled. "Well done for managing without us."

* * *

Finally, May was in her light pink night dress and climbing into bed, her mouth minty fresh from brushing her teeth. Turning out the light, Max said goodnight before climbing into bed himself, her saying it right back. 'Twas now the end of a not-so-perfect first day.


	5. Fate's Evil Decision

**Chapter Five****: Fate's Evil Decision**

Saying goodbye to Ash and Misty, who took off in the opposite direction, May cautiously approached her homeroom in room fifty-seven. Opening the door, she noticed that the room was still mostly empty, the few students present already occupying their chosen seats.

Looking around, she spotted a couple of people she knew from elementary school, as well as a couple of others she'd never met before. One of the girls she knew was Brianna, whom she'd seen pestering Drew just yesterday.

"Hey, May," Brianna said when she spotted her.

"Hey, Brianna," May replied.

"You wanna sit _here_?" Brianna gestured to the seat next to her.

May smiled. "Yeah, okay." She walked over and sat down. "Is no one else sitting here?"

"Nah. All my other friends are in different homerooms, so I thought I'd be alone in here."

May giggled. "Yeah, me too."

Brianna gasped. "Oh, wow! Is that a Skitty notebook? It's so cute!"

May beamed. "Yeah... thanks."

* * *

May's second day went by quietly with no sign of the green-haired terror named Drew... and, for that, she was very thankful to the people watching over her. Unfortunately, when the third day came along, she got a very nasty surprise as she put her unneeded books in her brand new locker.

"Why, if it isn't Little Miss No Name," an amused drawl from beside her commented.

May's heart plummeted; he'd found her. "Hi, Drew," she replied bitterly, slamming her locker door shut and turning to face him.

He had one hand pressed against the adjacent locker and was leaning heavily on one leg, the wrist of his other hand resting on his hip, a huge smirk on his face. The sight of him annoyed May intensely, but she managed to keep her cool.

"Stared at any good walls lately?" May's cheeks tinted, but she kept her mouth shut. "You know, you have very questionable fashion sense, the whole knickerbockers-under-the-skirt thing."

May scowled. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothing really. I suppose you need them, considering how short your skirt is."

May glared long and hard at him. "Sure... start the day off with an insult."

Drew chuckled. "Already have."

May leaned her back against her locker, the books needed for her first two lessons held tightly in her grasp. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Mmm, not really."

"Then why not go _elsewhere_, instead of hanging around _me_?"

"Where do you suggest I go?"

"I don't know... maybe your locker? I mean, won't you need your lesson books for the morning?"

"Yep, sure do."

There was silence as he continued to stand there, staring at her, the smirk never leaving his face. She was staring back, frowning and beginning to feel uncomfortable.

"Uh, Drew?"

"Mmm?"

"Can you, like... go away now?"

"Oh, is my presence bothering you? I'm ever so sorry."

"Hmph... you don't _sound_ very sorry." Drew flipped his hair in response and May frowned. "Do you want me to _guide_ you there, or something? I mean, you've been here a year, but, if you don't know where you're going..."

"I know where my locker is."

May frowned. "So why not go to it?"

"I am."

Again, there was grating silence as May waited patiently for Drew to move, but he didn't. "Well, what number is it?"

"Four two seven."

May's blood ran cold and she dropped her books. "F-Four two seven?"

Drew almost sung the words "Uh huh!"

May's eyes slowly drifted to the side of her, where the number of her own locker was displayed in big bold letters; it read 426.

"No..."

"Yep. You thought I didn't know where my locker was, when, the whole time, I was _leaning_ on it."

"Th-There must be some mistake. N-No way they'd be so cruel as to give me a locker next to you."

"Oh, come now, I'm not _that_ bad. Most girls here would give their right arm to have your locker."

There was a slight pause... then May burst out laughing. Drew raised an eyebrow at her. "This is some sort of sick joke, right? That's not your locker! You just said that to scare me!" She inhaled a gulp of air. "Oh, I can't believe I fell for it!"

Standing up straight, Drew grabbed the combination lock and began to turn it, first left, then right, the left again... and, to May's absolute horror, the door opened, revealing various books with his name written on them.

"This is _my_ locker. It's been my locker ever since I first came here a year ago."

May's over-emotional eyes dropped to the floor and, suddenly noticing her books, picked them back up. "So... who had this locker before _me_?"

Drew shrugged. "Eh, some eighth grade cheerleader I can never remember the name of."

"Another one of your fans?"

"You know it."

May slammed her fist against her locker. "Why? Why did Fate have to put me next to you? I could have had _anyone_, but no! I get _you_!"

"Hey, I'm not exactly thrilled about it either."

"You could've fooled _me_." There was a pause. "I'm gonna go complain... see if I can get another locker."

Drew snorted. "I'm touched."

"Well, don't be." May began marching off, the grip on her books tightening.

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

May stopped and turned round. "What?" She was barely controlling her fury at this point.

Drew flipped his hair. "A locker's called a locker for a reason, y'know." May raised an eyebrow at him. "As in, you're supposed to _lock_ it."

In her mind, May was kicking herself.

* * *

"_What_?" May screeched.

The principal's left eye twitched at the intense noise. "I'm sorry... May, was it?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry, May, but there are no available lockers anywhere in the school."

"But I _have_ to have a new one! I don't wanna be stuck next to Drew for two years!"

"Drew? As in Drew O'Cadhla?"

"Yeah, him. He's a real jerk and he loves to torment me and... and I just wanna get away from him!"

The principal raised an eyebrow. "Huh, that's odd... Usually, I get girls begging me to _give_ them the locker next to Drew, not begging me to move them _away_ from it."

Drew's statement drifted through May's mind. _"Most girls here would give their right arm to have your locker." _She scowled. "Well, I don't like him."

"Well then, you're one of very few."

"My friend doesn't like him either."

The principal looked mildly surprised. "Well then, she is too."

May sighed. "Please... I don't think I'll be able to survive school being next to him. Couldn't you... get another student to trade with me or something? I'm sure there'd be plenty of takers."

"That's one major problem; it'd be too easy to find takers, therefore too hard to pick someone to take it. I'm sorry, May, but, for the moment, you're just going to have to learn to get along with Drew."

* * *

At recess, May was, once again, by her locker, putting away the books she'd used for the day and taking out the one she'd need. She knew Drew would have to come here too... and she could've done this at super-speed to try and avoid him, but what was the point, really?

"I take it you weren't able to get away from me, huh?" said a smug voice from behind her locker door. She closed it and Drew's face appeared in her line of vision.

"Unfortunately not," she muttered, locking her locker.

"Shame. It would have been nice to be locker buddies with someone prettier."

May's teeth ground together. _Does the principal need brain surgery? _she thought. _There's no way I'm __**ever**__ gonna get along with Drew._

"Then again, _everyone's_ prettier than you, aren't they? Even the boys."

"How dare you," she growled, merely one step away from strangling him.

"How dare I? Quite easily, I'd think."

Practically breathing fire through her nostrils, May glared at him. What could she say to throw him off? Was there any comment that she could make that he wouldn't be able to counter?

"Why can't you just leave me alone?"

Drew chuckled and flipped his hair. "We're locker buddies now. I can't exactly avoid bumping into you."

"I'm not your buddy!"

"Wow... a loud voice _and_ an ugly mug. Such a lucky little girl."

"Stop calling me ugly! You know, you're not so great yourself, Mr. High And Mighty! I really don't see why girls fall over themselves over you, 'cause you're nothing special!"

Drew's smirk slid straight off his face. He was silent for a few seconds, then shrugged. "Each to their own, I guess."

May blinked, her frown fading. _"Each to their own, I guess"? Is that all he has to say for himself? _

After a moment, Drew's smirk returned. "So... you gonna cough up your name or shall I continue to make up names for you?"

Instantly shifting from confusion to annoyance, May frowned again. "Make up all the names you want, 'cause you're not getting _mine_."

Drew's smirk deepened. "Sure thing, Red." May rolled her eyes, turned around and walked off. "You come across any walls worth staring at, you let me know, okay? Though I hear there's a pretty good one in one of the I.T. rooms!"

May envisioned herself running back to Drew and smacking him over the head with her English book... and was sorely tempted to try it... but she kept on walking.

* * *

"Oh, no way!" Misty said at lunchtime, when the three friends were standing in the queue together.

"Yes way," May replied miserably.

"That's just beyond cruel," Ash added, shaking his head.

"Tell me about it. Out of all the lockers in the school, I had to get the one next to _him_."

"You should complain to the principal and get him to get you a new one," Misty suggested.

"Tried that; didn't work."

"Why not?" Ash asked.

"'Cause almost every other girl in school would want to trade with me."

"And that would make it a very difficult choice," Misty added.

"Plus, the rejected ones would probably start a war against you," Ash said, catching on.

"Yeah," May replied, sighing. "Well, I know one thing for sure... somebody up there really hates me."

"Oh, don't be silly," Misty said, putting a comforting arm round her shoulder. "It's just really bad luck, that's all."

"Could be... but, then again, it could be my grandpa, paying me back for being on vacation when he died in hospital."

"May," Ash said, suddenly looking serious, "I'm sure your grandpa has nothing to do with this. He'll always love you, no matter what you do... and besides, the vacation was already booked well in advance, remember? How were _you_ supposed to know he was gonna get sick?"

"But I should've convinced my mom and dad to cancel it; I should've been there for him."

"Don't worry about it, May," Misty said. There was a pause, then she smiled. "'Cause, if you do, my hand will be hitting your cheek at five miles an hour."

May laughed, suddenly feeling a lot better, then she heard squealing and turned to see several cheerleaders congregating around Drew. May's eyebrows furrowed; those cheerleaders looked awfully familiar, but why?

"Ugh! Can you _believe_ that guy?" a thoroughly irritated voice said from nearby. She turned and saw Gary standing beside Ash with his arms folded, glaring at Drew.

"Say, aren't they meant to be _your_ fans?" Ash asked.

"Yeah, but he tends to steal them from me every now and then. It's so annoying!"

"Hey, Gary," May said pleasantly.

She'd known Gary since kindergarten, since he was one of the kids Misty was trying to find while playing hide and seek. The boy also happened to be Ash's age.

"Hey, May," he replied, smiling.

"Say, Gary, how's this for bad luck?" Misty asked. "May got a locker right next to Drew's!"

Gary's arms dropped to his sides. "Aw, man," he said, glancing pitifully at May, "that's awful."

May chuckled. "Yeah... and I'm stuck with it, 'cause there's no free lockers."

"Well, find someone to trade with."

"There's too many people _to_ trade with," Misty replied. "Can you imagine the chaos if May picked _one_ of Drew's fans, leaving out the rest?" Gary flinched. "Exactly... and no _boy_ in his right mind would even _want_ her locker."

"Bummer."

"Yep," May said dejectedly.

It was only the third day and the life of May Styles had gone to the dogs. Would it ever improve? That was a question not even she could answer at the moment.


	6. Burning Red and Smouldering Black

Author's note: The chapter title refers to the hair of the two characters involved in pokeshipping. It is meant to relate to fire, burning and smouldering, and was inspired by the shampoo advert that talks about how red-heads burn, blondes blaze and brunettes smoulder. Also, this _entire_ chapter is dedicated to Shuu234 because I feel that she deserves it.

**Chapter Six****: Burning Red and Smouldering Black**

It was finally Friday, signalling the end of the first week back at Blue Moon Junior High, and Misty Waterflower pretended to take notes in her water Pokemon notebook as her Childcare teacher, Miss Archer, reminded them about the complicated process of how a baby is created and what steps to take to ensure it's healthy when it's born. Instead, she was doodling a picture of the best friend she held so much affection for: Ash Ketchum.

She wasn't exactly sure when it was she first began to love him, and was rather embarrassed that May knew she did, but she _did_ know when she first felt a crush on him: it was way back in third grade on Valentines Day. She was still seven, as it hadn't been her birthday yet, and Ash's mother, Delia, had told him, while giggling madly, to give his "cute little red-head friend" a kiss on the cheek. Ash had protested, but Delia had said that at least he only had one girl to kiss, since May was on vacation.

Ash had refused point blank, but as soon as Delia mentioned, with as straight a face as the woman could muster, that his dinner would be fed to Rex if he didn't, he gave Misty a quick peck on the cheek. It had lasted only a second and felt quite forceful, but it had still left her blushing afterwards.

Currently, the Ash in Misty's drawing had his cap backwards and was holding a Pokeball in his right hand, a determined look on his face. Misty smiled; since Pokemon had first started appearing, she'd imagined him quite easily journeying round the world to become a Pokemon Master; it just seemed his sort of thing. He always got a thrill whenever he reached a gym battle in a Pokemon game... and never got tired of doing them again whenever he restarted the game. The biggest thrill he'd get, of course, was entering the Pokemon League. Yeah, she was certain that, in a world where Pokemon were real, he'd make a fantastic trainer... though she'd never tell him that; it would make his head swell to the size of Texas.

* * *

It was lunchtime and the three friends, after finishing their food early because of their fortune to be near the front of the queue, sat on a bench outside, feeling the heat of the afternoon sun and the caress of the cool breeze. Ash was on the left, Misty was on the right and May was in the middle.

"Mmm, the food was pretty good today," Ash commented. Misty rolled her eyes and May giggled. "What?"

"You could've said anything," Misty said, "but the first thing you mentioned was food."

"Yeah, Ash," May agreed, "do you do _anything_ but eat?"

Ash mock-frowned. "Hey, I happen to do plenty more than just eat."

Misty chuckled. "_Sure_ you do."

"Hey, there's Joshua and Erica!" May said enthusiastically. "Mind if I go talk to them for a bit?"

"Not at all," Misty replied. "Go ahead."

"Thanks." May stood up and walked over to a boy with dark green hair and a girl with short purplish-brown hair holding hands.

"It's nice that May's made friends with the people in her homeroom, isn't it?" Ash asked, turning to Misty.

"Yeah," Misty replied, looking round. "I can't see that purple-haired girl anywhere, though. What was her name again?"

"Kelly, I think."

"Oh yeah, so it was."

There was a short silence. "Say, did you get my text message?"

"Huh? When?"

"After recess."

"Hang on a sec."

Misty took her red sports bag off her shoulder and, by pulling on the white strings, opened it before digging around for her cell phone. A minute of searching later, however, her becoming more and more frantic, she couldn't find it anywhere.

"What's wrong?"

"My cell! I can't find my cell!"

There was a pause. "Is it definitely not there?"

"No, it's definitely not there! Why would I be panicking if it _was_ there?"

"No need to yell at me! I'm only asking!"

"Well, _don't_ ask!"

"Fine, I won't!"

"Fine!" There was another pause. "You took it, didn't you?"

"_What_? Why would I take your cell phone?"

"Well, you did say when I got it that it was the one you wanted!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna steal it from you!"

"How do I know that? You might have been secretly planning to take it all along!"

"I've been nowhere near your bag!"

"How do I know that either?"

"I don't believe this! You're insinuating I'd steal from my best friend?"

"Well, anything's possible these days!"

"I didn't take it! I _wouldn't_ take it!"

"Well then, who did?"

"How should _I_ know?"

"Well, it's funny how _you're_ the one I asked to mind my bag while I went to the toilet!"

"Yeah, but I don't even _look_ in your bag, never mind _take_ from it!"

"How do I know you're not lying?"

"Argh! Misty, I didn't do it!"

"I don't trust you for one second!"

"Well, thanks a lot!"

"You're welcome, you good-for-nothing thief!"

"How dare you call me a thief! I just wouldn't do that!"

"Stop lying and hang back my cell!"

"I can't because I don't have it!"

"No, you don't _want_ to because _you_ want it!"

"No, I don't!"

"You liar! When I got it, you even _said_ you wanted it!"

"I wasn't being serious!"

"Yes, you were!"

"Well, maybe I was, but I wouldn't stoop so low as to take _yours_!"

"Oh no? Well, what about that time you stole my Pokemon watch?"

"That was years ago!"

"No, it was last year! Pokemon only came out last year!"

"Whatever, but I still returned it!"

"Only after I gripped you in a headlock and threatened to break your neck if you didn't!"

"Yeah, like I was really gonna keep it!"

"You said you were!"

"It was a joke!"

"Well, it wasn't very funny!"

"Well, you've got no sense of humour!"

"How dare you! Yes, I do have a sense of humour!"

"Oh yeah? Name one thing I've said that's made you laugh!"

"I can't because you're lame at telling jokes!"

"Oh, is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so!"

"Well, May always seems to find me funny!"

"May laughs at everything and you know it!"

"Is that an insult to May?"

"No, actually, it's a compliment!"

"How's it a compliment?"

"Because she's always able to look at the bright side of life!"

"Yeah, unlike you!"

"I happen to be happy a _lot_ of the time! It's just _you_ that gets me angry!"

"Well then, the feeling's mutual, 'cause _you_ get_ me_ angry too!"

"Guys!" May cried out, darting over. "What the heck are you fighting about?"

"He stole my cell phone!"

"No, I didn't!"

"You liar!"

"I'm not lying!"

"Hold it!" May shrieked, sitting between them. "People can hear this fight all over the school."

Ash and Misty looked around and noticed everyone staring at them. Blushing furiously, they turned in opposite directions and glared at whatever was directly in front of them. May sighed.

"You two finished?" Erica called over, chuckling. Beside her, Joshua was doing the same.

"Misty," May said, turning to her red-headed female friend, "do you, honestly and truly, think Ash stole your cell phone?" Misty was silent. "If not, then why accuse him? If so, explain your reasons."

Slowly, Misty turned to face May, her face still burning. "Honestly, I don't know." She glanced at Ash, but he refused to face her, so she looked back at May. "I get a bit frantic when I lose my cell phone. It's, like, one of my most precious possessions... and, if he _has_ taken it, I'd like him to give it back now."

May sighed, turning to Ash. "Ash, do you know where Misty's cell phone is?"

Ash half-turned to face the two girls. "No, I don't," he replied. "If I _had_ taken it, I would've given it back by now. I'd never steal it."

May nodded, once again facing Misty. "Then I think you owe Ash an apology."

Misty stared miserably at her feet, a tiny lump appearing in her throat. "I'm sorry, Ash," she muttered.

Glancing up, she noticed Ash had turned around completely and was smiling softly at her. She smiled back.

"It's okay, Misty," he replied.

"Well, now that _that's_ sorted," May said, looking at the floor, "I have an apology to make too."

Ash and Misty both looked at her suspiciously. "Why? What've you done?" Misty asked.

Smiling guiltily, May pulled her yellow bag to the front of her body, unzipped it, dug around and pulled out a silver flip phone. Ash and Misty gasped.

"Misty's cell!" Ash cried.

"_You _took it!"

"Yeah..." May turned to Misty. "When you gave your bag to Ash at recess... well, he said he needed the toilet too, so he told me to mind it. I thought I'd take out your phone as a joke, just to see if you'd notice when you came back... then Ash got back before you and took back the bag. Of course, you _didn't_ notice and I kinda... ended up... forgetting about it."

"_May_!"

May gazed back down at the floor. "Sorry. I forgot I had it until the argument broke out."

"So, I just argued with Ash... _for nothing_?"

"Uh huh."

"And I accused him of taking my cell phone... _for nothing_?"

"Uh huh." Sitting there in stunned silence, Misty just stared at May. "Oh and you have a message... off Ash."

May held out the cell phone and Misty slowly took it. Flipping it open, Misty scanned the message section and, discovering her newest message, clicked on it. It loaded up and read, 'Might be a bit late for lunch. Meet you in the queue.' Misty looked back up at her guilty female friend and her expressionless male friend.

"No wonder you didn't show up 'til later..."

"Yeah," Ash replied, "my Science teacher wanted a word with me about getting four out of ten on the class test."

"I'm really sorry, Misty," May said, bowing her head. "I'm an awful friend, almost splitting you two up."

Misty smiled. "Eh, don't worry about it."

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Besides, we'll only come out of this better off."

"Yeah? How do you figure that?" May asked.

"'Cause arguments always make our friendship stronger afterwards," Misty explained.

May blinked, then smiled. "Aww... then I think this calls for a group hug, don't you, guys? Excluding me, of course."

Ash and Misty stared at her. "A... group hug?" Ash asked.

"Excluding you?" Misty asked.

"Mmm hmm," May replied, standing up and facing them. "Go ahead." She winked. "After all, it'll only make the friendship stronger, right?" Ash and Misty looked at each other. "Go on. What harm will it do?

Tentatively, the duo edged closer together and wrapped their arms around one another. Feeling the gentle touch of his body on hers, Misty felt really awkward and her face burned so hot, she was sure that, if May cracked an egg there, it would fry in seconds. Pulling away, she noticed that Ash's face looked as hot as hers felt, which only added to the embarrassment.

_How am I supposed to feel comfortable doing that when **he** isn't?_ she thought._ Wait... could May seriously be right? __**Could**__ he like me just as much as I like him? _"I'm... really sorry, Ash... I shouldn't have... I mean, it was awful for me to even _think_..."

"Hey, it's alright," Ash assured. "I completely understand. I know how you are with your cell... and I'm sorry I got so angry at you for blaming me out of impulse... it just worsened the situation."

Misty frowned slightly. "You've got no right apologising to me... _I _was in the wrong."

Ash also frowned. "No, I shouldn't have yelled at you. You were panicking and I yelled at you, which I shouldn't have done."

Misty pointed a finger at him. "Now you listen here, Ash Ketchum; you are not in the wrong, so take back your apology!"

"Why should I? It was as much my fault as it was yours!"

"No, it wasn't and you know it!"

"Yes, it was and _you _know it!"

"Shut up trying to be so righteous!"

"I'm not _being_ righteous! I'm being honest!"

Distantly, a hand was heard slapping a head and someone Misty presumed to be May muttered, "I don't believe it... I just _don't _believe it..."

At least, after today, it would be the weekend, therefore the end of a very hectic and very tiring week.


	7. Shop 'Til You Drop

Author's note: The credit goes to Megaman-NG for this chapter. Where they go and who they meet was his idea.

**Chapter Seven****: Shop 'Til You Drop**

It was Saturday afternoon and Ash, Misty and May were at the local mall, ready for a day of shopping... well, Misty was, anyway; the other two were just trudging along behind, moaning and groaning about their boredom every so often, which would earn them an irritated look from Misty.

May didn't know about Ash, but she was only here to get out and be with people that weren't driving her crazy. Earlier that morning, Max had found one of her training bras lying around and, grabbing it by the strap, had run around the house with it, her chasing him furiously. Their parents hadn't done anything to stop him... they'd just laughed.

Spotting a store she wanted, Misty altered course and, wending her way past other people, entered it. May really couldn't care what its name was, so she just followed behind without even bothering to look. Beside her, Ash appeared to be doing the same.

Entering the store, May noticed that Misty had darted off to check out the girls' T-shirts, skimming through them at the rapid pace of a true blue shopaholic. May sighed; this was going a long shopping trip. She glanced over to the side to see Ash edging towards the boys' jeans.

_Eh, I think I'll follow Misty,_ she decided before taking off towards her red-headed female friend.

"Hey, what do you think of this top?" Misty asked, holding out the bottom of an off-one-shoulder, orange T-shirt so short it would easily expose a girl's midriff.

"Mmm, it's nice."

"I think so too." Misty turned and examined the collection of skirts on the rack behind her. After a few moments, she stopped and pulled out a bright pink one. "Oh, how cute!"

May half-smiled. "Yeah... cute." Truthfully, this was boring her half to death.

"Come on, let's go check out the stuff over _there_." Misty nodded her head in another direction and walked that way. May followed.

* * *

"So, what do you think?" Misty asked after pulling back the curtain.

She had her ginger hair down and covered by a purple headband, wearing a purple halter neck T-shirt, a black skirt and black high-heeled sandals.

"Wow... nice," May said, smiling and nodding.

Misty beamed. "I wanna show Ash. Go get him for me, would you please?"

May bowed her head. "Right away, your highness."

Misty laughed and swiped a hand at her as the brunette walked out of the changing rooms, giggling. After a minute of searching, she spotted Ash over by the men's boxers, so she walked over and tapped him on the shoulder.

Ash turned round. "Oh, hi, May," he said, smiling.

"Hi. Misty wants you to come see her in the outfit she picked out."

Ash blinked at her. "Um, okay."

Walking back over to the changing rooms, the two met up with Misty again, who began modelling her outfit. Smirking slightly, May glanced at Ash... who was staring, unblinking, at Misty, his mouth open about a centimetre.

* * *

"No!" Ash complained.

"Come _on_!" Misty teased, dragging him by the arm.

"_No_!"

"It'll only be for a little while."

"You are _not _dragging me in there!"

"Come on! It'll be funny!"

"Misty, I am not going in there and that's final!"

May chuckled, leaning on the wall, as she watched Ash's fruitless, and very violent, attempts at freedom from Misty's tight grasp as the girl dragged him closer and closer to his impending doom... the lingerie store.

"_No_!" He was now just in the doorway... or, rather, gripping onto the doorway for dear life. "_No_! You can't make me!"

"Oh yeah?" She gave him one large heave, using up every last ounce of her strength and Ash went flying, crashing into a scantily-clad mannequin.

Both girls burst into fits of hysterical laughter as an extremely red-faced Ash clambered to his feet, dusted himself off and darted from the store as fast as his legs would carry him.

* * *

"How's _this_ look?" May asked with a huge grin, pulling off her bandana and putting on a furry black hat with side-warmers, then posing with it.

Ash and Misty laughed. "Ridiculous," Misty replied.

They both suddenly delved for the hats, each grabbing one and trying it on. Ash tried on a brown cowboy hat and Misty tried on a white bobble hat. They all cracked up laughing as each did their own unique pose, Ash placing the knuckles of his right hand on his waist, May hugging herself as though in a blizzard and Misty sticking her thumb in her mouth.

* * *

"Oh, I love those shoes!" Misty said excitedly.

"Yeah, they're not bad..." Ash replied, "for a girl."

Frankly, May wasn't interested; she was busy looking elsewhere... so she didn't even see what Misty was pointing at. Something did catch her eye in the corner of the room though, so she made her way towards it. Holding it in her gloved hand, she looked it over; it was a skirt in her favourite colour, red, and had shiny silver pictures of roses imprinted into it.

_It's so beautiful... _she thought.

* * *

Queuing up at the ice cream stand, May debated what to get... chocolate, strawberry, a mixture of both or strawberry chocolate chip. In front of her, Misty was telling Ash that she wanted melon and, since Ash was the male, he should be a gentleman and buy it for her, as well as the mint _he _wanted. He, of course, was refusing, stating that she had her own money and should buy it herself.

Directing her attention towards the nearby penguin fountain spewing water, May gazed at it and all the people congregating round it. She wasn't sure why, but she always loved to watch that fountain. Maybe it was because it had a strange calming effect whenever she was out shopping.

"Hey, May!" Misty's voice called.

May turned round and noticed the queue that was in front of her had disappeared and Ash and Misty already had their ice creams, Ash greedily licking away at his and Misty ignoring hers as she stared at May. Embarrassed, May went over, apologised and ordered a strawberry chocolate chip.

* * *

Sitting on a bench, the three friends happily consumed their chosen ice cream flavours in silence. May was contented; she was eating a delicious ice cream, seated to the right of her two best friends. Granted, the part about being at the mall wasn't too thrilling for her, but she was still fairly happy.

"Well, look who it is," a boy's voice said from beside them. May clenched her eyes shut, hoping that, if she counted to three and opened them again, he'd be gone and it was just her imagination. "Fag Ash, Misty Forecast and Bloodbath."

May exhaled deeply through her nostrils, opened her eyes and glared at him. "'Bloodbath'?" she asked coldly.

Drew flipped his hair. "Well, yeah. I mean, you wear so much red, people might end up thinking you're a walking, talking corpse."

Misty frowned. "Leave her alone, Drew," she snapped.

Drew shrugged. "Yes, ma'am."

"Is there something we can help you with?" Ash asked icily.

"No, not really."

"Well, get lost then," May said, turning back to her ice cream.

"Huh, well, that's not very polite now, is it?"

"Well, it's not like you're ever polite to me."

"Yeah, Drew, so take a hike," Misty added, glaring at him.

"Hmm, no thanks; don't like hiking much."

"You know what she means," Ash snarled.

Drew raised his hands in front of him. "Whoa, sorry. I had no idea my presence was so much of a bother."

Ash snorted. "What did you expect after insulting me last year?"

Drew brushed some of his green hair to one side. "Yeah, I guess that _was_ a little harsh."

All three looked up from their ice creams to shoot him confused looks. Did he really just say that? It sounded like something close to an apology.

"Yes, it was," Misty said, frowning slightly, but still confused.

Drew shrugged again. "Eh, what can I say? Fangirl attention goes to my head sometimes."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Does that mean you're sorry?"

A silence followed, but, finally, there was a response. "Yeah."

Misty looked at Ash and he looked at her. "What do you make of that?" she asked him.

Ash glanced at Drew for a moment. "Well... I _guess_ I can forgive him... but only if he promises never to do it again."

"Don't worry, I won't," Drew replied, making them all look at him again.

"So..." Misty said, "who are you here with?"

"Nobody. I came here alone."

"Really?" May asked. "Why?"

Drew shrugged again. "Needed to get out of the house for a while."

"Well, don't you have friends who could come with you?"

"Not really. I'm not very popular with the guys, in case you haven't noticed."

"Well, what about the girls?" Ash asked. "You have plenty of fangirls; why not bring one of them along?"

Drew glanced off to the side. "Didn't feel like it."

An awkward silence followed as the three friends shot each other confused glances. He'd come to the mall on his own and 'not felt like' bringing any fangirls? Was he really a loner at heart? Surely not...

"Well," Ash said, glancing back at Drew, the two girls turning round to face the green-haired boy, "you could... y'know... come shopping with us today, if you like." Both heads snapped back to stare at Ash, whose face was tinting slightly in embarrassment. "What? I'm just trying to be nice."

"Well," Drew said, turning round to face away from them, "if I'm not wanted here, then I'll just go."

He began walking away when May, impulsively, shouted, "Wait!" Misty spun around to watch.

Drew turned to look at her. "Mmm?"

"Uh, well... I mean we're not..." Drew raised an eyebrow at her. May sighed. "I'm alright with you shopping with us."

"Oh? I thought you didn't like me."

May averted her eyes. "Well..."

Drew sighed. "I don't need pity, if that's what you're giving me. In fact, I _like _going places alone."

"Really?" Misty asked.

Drew nodded. "Yeah."

"Why's that then?" Ash asked.

Drew half-smiled. "Well, for one thing, I've got no one to argue with about where to go and what to do."

"Mmm, true," Ash said, chuckling. Misty glared at him.

May noticed and rolled her eyes. _She's still not happy about the idea of Drew going shopping with us, _she thought.

"Well, this is all well and good, but I'm gonna depart now," Drew announced, giving them a two-fingered salute and walking away.

May watched intently as his green hair moved further and further into the distance, the owner stuffing his hands into the pockets of his pale green trousers. There was no strut to his walk, she noticed... nothing to indicate his cocky nature... it was just a normal, straight walk.

"May?" Misty asked, waving a hand in front of the brunette's face.

"Huh?" May replied, blinking and turning to face the red-head. "What?"

"I just asked you what you wanted to do next."

"Oh... well..." May glanced at her ice cream, then returned her attention to Misty. "First we'll finish the cones, then... we can go..." She glanced around the mall and her gaze landed on a random clothes store. "There." She nodded towards the store.

Misty smiled. "Okay."

May licked away at her ice cream and the deliciously sweet and tangy taste of strawberry, plus the rich and creamy taste of chocolate hit her taste buds. Ash and Misty were now licking away at their own ice creams, each person glancing in a different direction for something interesting to look at while they ate.

"Did Drew seem a little... off to you guys?" Ash asked. Suddenly, he dropped some mint ice cream on his blue pullover. "Oh, darn!"

Misty licked her melon ice cream. "Yeah, he did," she replied, "but I still think he's a jerk."

"But he said he was sorry."

"I know, but I still don't like or trust him. He's just pretending to be a nice person when, really, he's not."

Ash shook his head, wiping the stain with a gloved hand. "You're crazy."

Misty frowned, rounding on him. "So says you."

"And a load of others..."

"Oh yeah?" Misty turned to May. "Would you say I'm crazy?"

May blinked. "Aheh... well, not generally... but, as for the Drew thing, I really don't know."

Misty's frown disappeared. "I would have thought you, of all people, would back me up on this one."

May raised her hands in defence. "Hey, I'm not siding with him, if that's what you're thinking!"

Misty raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that?"

"Yes."

Misty smiled again. "Well, okay."

Finally, after the ice creams were heartily consumed, the three friends resumed their shopping trip around the mall. At one point, May could swear she saw a guy with green hair in the distance watching them, but, when she looked again, he was gone.


	8. Ten Ways to Embarrass Your Son

Author's note: This chapter is dedicated to Jenvaati, since it's her idea. Also, I own Gerald Ketchum.

**Chapter Eight****: Ten Ways to Embarrass Your Son**

It was two weeks and two days after the trio of friends known as Ash, Misty and May had been on their shopping trip around the local mall, making it Monday, and Ash Ketchum took his seat in his History class. Not long after, Drew O'Cadhla saddled in and seated himself adjacent to the brunette, giving his green hair a light flip as he did so.

Ash looked at him. He wasn't quite sure how he felt towards Drew at the moment; the boy had apologised, or close to it, all that time ago, but not spoken much to him since. He did, however, according to May, torture the poor girl almost every single day by her... or rather _their_... lockers.

Drew smirked at him, lifting up the wooden lid of his desk and planting his Math book inside before closing it and placing his History book in front of him. He then reclined back in his chair, his hands landing neatly in his lap, the fingers intertwining as he gazed at the front of the room.

Ash copied Drew's actions, putting his English book out of sight under his desk lid and placing his History book on the desk in front of him. However, he didn't copy Drew's posture; instead, he leaned on his desk, his left arm over his right as he waited for their teacher, Mr. Miller.

While waiting, his mind drifted to thinking about his two best friends. Now, he'd often been laughed at by other boys for hanging around with girls and called plenty of unpleasant names, but, honestly, he couldn't care less. After all, they were the greatest friends he could ever ask for; they were kind, considerate, charming and honest as could be... not to mention pretty.

Yes, Ash had indeed crushed on both girls in his lifetime. His crush on Misty happened when he was seven and was forced by his mother to kiss her cheek on Valentine's Day... and his crush on May had happened when he was nine, had become vulnerable and cried on her shoulder. She'd rubbed his back and said that, wherever Rex was, he was happy and free, but also, since he was rather embarrassed about it, that it was perfectly natural for a boy to cry.

Over the years, the scale had been tipping, first to Misty, then to May, which had resulted in him being extremely confused as to which girl he preferred romantically. Eventually, though, he figured it out one cold winter's day when he was ten. He was the only one with a jacket and the girls were gripping themselves for warmth as they trudged through the snow to his house. Of course, for some reason, he'd only noticed Misty freezing to death, so, completely out of impulse, he'd took off his sleeveless blue jacket and draped it over her. She'd smiled affectionately, huddling closer to him and he'd blushed. May had looked murderous, since he'd left her to freeze, and he'd immediately felt guilty.

Snapping back to reality, Ash sighed. He was in love with Misty Waterflower... he couldn't help it... though, sometimes, he still felt a little jolt whenever May touched him... be it accidental, like their shins bumping under the table, or on purpose, like her hand on his shoulder. Ash gave a defeated sigh. why did he have to love one friend and like another the way he did?

_Must be the male hormones..._ he thought with a slight chuckle.

"Hi, class," a woman with long brown hair tied in a loose ponytail said as she entered the room, carrying a briefcase. "I'm sorry to say that Mr. Miller is off sick today, so I'll be your substitute for today's lesson only."

Ash was sure he felt his face turn green and the contents of his stomach churn violently as he noticed her face. Surely, no one in their right mind would be cruel enough to make her his teacher... _Surely_, no one hated him so much they'd do _this_ to him...

Placing the briefcase down, the woman picked up a piece of chalk and turned to the blackboard, beginning to scribble on it.

"Hey, something wrong?" Drew asked from somewhere nearby, but Ash's eyes were fixated on the woman at the front of the class.

"Now..." the woman said, moving away from the board, where her name was written in capitals for the whole room to see, "this is me... Mrs. Ketchum."

Ash could feel Drew's eyes suddenly boring into the side of his head as the green-haired boy asked, "Ketchum?"

"Okay, I think we'll start with... Ash! Oh, I didn't see you there, sweetie!" Ash quickly grabbed his book, opened it and hid behind it, his face burning. "Well, I certainly didn't expect to be in the same classroom as you!"

Drew snorted. "You know her?"

"Uh, no," Ash lied. "Never seen her before in my life." He suddenly heard the loud clack-clack of high heels before his book was snatched away. "Hey!"

"Really, Ash!" Mrs. Ketchum said. "I would've thought you'd be glad I'm teaching your History class today!" Ash planted his elbows on his desk, covering his eyes with his hands. "_Look at me when I'm talking to you_, _Ash Ketchum_!"

The entire class burst into fits of laughter, finally coming to an understanding, and Ash was hoping... nay, _praying_... that someone in the heavens would be kind enough to open up the floor underneath him... even if it went to Hell. After all, _anything_ would be better than this. Looking up into her face, he was sure he felt his own melt under the extremely high temperature it was giving off.

"Um... could you, like, cut that out?" he muttered. "People are laughing at me."

"Hmph! What? Your own mother can't have a conversation with you?"

As this declaration, the class laughed even harder, some banging their fists on their desks, some clutching their sides and a couple even falling off their chairs, which only caused more laughter. Everyone seemed to be laughing so hard, they were having breathing problems.

The only one _not_ laughing, Ash noticed, was Drew. He did, however, have the world's largest grin plastered on his face and, for that alone, he just wanted to be sucked into a black hole, be ripped apart, molecule by molecule, and finally be at peace with the world. Unfortunately, junior high wasn't a place known for keeping black holes, so all he could do was sit there and suffer.

* * *

Delia Ketchum spent an entire half hour talking very animatedly about different events that happened in American history, even going over the story everyone already knew about: the Declaration of Independence. She was drawing little sketches on the blackboard and including a joke and a laugh every now and then to make it more fun; being a full-time mother, she knew how to entertain.

When she was finally done and the class were settling down from her last joke about George Washington, she turned to face them with her hands clasped behind her back.

"So, class..." she said, smiling delicately, "any questions?"

"Yeah," a girl with long, curly dark brown hair said, leaning on her desk. "Just how close are you and your son?"

Delia chuckled. "Now, Gabrielle-"

"Giselle."

"Sorry... Giselle... Aren't we getting a little off-topic here?"

"Aw, come on, Mrs. Ketchum," a boy with short brown hair insisted.

"John-"

"Joe."

"Sorry... Joe... Boy, am I having trouble with these names!" Delia giggled. "Don't you, or Giselle, or anyone else in the class, have a question related to the topic we just covered?"

"Oh, don't get us wrong, Mrs. K..." Giselle said, "that lesson was fun... but I'd really like to know how close you and Ash are."

Giselle glanced at Ash with a smirk and he managed a weak, embarrassed smile back, his face beginning to tint. He'd thought he'd get away with no more mortification today... Guess Fate wasn't as kind as he'd hoped...

Delia sighed, smiling. "Well, okay, if you insist." Walking over to Ash, she stopped by his desk. "Ash has been my baby boy ever since birth. We've been through a lot together and always look out for one another. When he was only three, his father, Gerald Ketchum, died of a heart condition, which only brought us closer. Every night, for two months, Ash would come into my room, crying his poor little eyes out, and I would gently rock him to sleep. This deepened our bond beyond anything anyone could ever imagine... and it's for this reason that I worry so much about him... because I love him with all my heart."

By this point, Ash's face felt like it was a blazing inferno and, throughout the speech, he'd slumped further and further down in his seat, somehow hoping that would hide him from the many eyes spread out across the classroom. As he glanced briefly around, however, he noticed, to his dismay, that he definitely wasn't invisible.

There seemed to have, yet again, been mixed responses to the incredibly embarrassing things that had sprouted from his mother's mouth. Some of the class, mainly girls, had emotion sparkling in the eyes and he could almost hear them thinking, "Aww!" but the rest, including Drew, were attempting to keep a pleasant smile plastered on their face; their teeth were clasped on their bottom lips and their mouths were twitching at the corners. Every so often, what sounded like a stifled laugh escaped.

Ash clenched his eyes shut for a moment, praying that, once he opened them again, all that he'd seen before him would melt away into oblivion. Unfortunately, when he did, all he saw was the exact same as he had before. Glancing up, he noticed that his mother was slightly teary-eyed, dabbing at the dampness with a pocket tissue.

* * *

With his pen, which was black with a Swellow perched on the top, in hand, Ash scribbled away the answer to question number five in the textbook laid open in front of him. He then glanced at question six, read it and faltered. Noticing this, Delia sprang from her seat and practically glided over to his side.

"Having problems, sweetie?" she asked innocently, bending down to look at his textbook.

Ash blushed. "Uh... n-no, I'm okay... Miss..." he replied, instantly regretting using that last word.

"Miss?" Delia laughed. "Oh, you know you don't have to call me Miss!" She grabbed his cheek and squeezed it. "You're my little pumpkin! Just stick to calling me 'Mom'."

His face burning even more, both from what had just occurred and the quiet laughter that had started up _again_, he put down his pen and coldly replied, "No thanks, _Mom_."

Delia blinked, taken aback... then she frowned. "Well, there's no need to take that tone of voice with me! I may have been called in to teach today, since I was a teacher before I became a housewife, but that does _not_ mean that I don't demand respect from my own son!"

Delia stomped off to the front of the classroom and sat herself down, glaring hard at the pile of papers in front of her. Meanwhile, no one could contain their laughter anymore and the whole class was in uproar. Ash blushed crimson and sunk low in his chair.

"Looks like you've been cursed for the day, doesn't it?" Drew asked. Ash turned and glared at him as the boy flipped his hair. "I mean, it's bad enough you get you're mom for a sub, but to have her talk like _that_ to you?" Drew snorted. "I don't think I've ever _seen_ such entertainment."

"Can it, Drew," Ash grumbled, reaching for his Swellow pen.

"Hmm... can what, exactly? The entertainment? I don't think I'd be able to _get_ in into a tin cylinder."

"I said _can it_, _Drew_!"

The whole classroom went silent as everyone stared at Ash, who slammed his head on the desk. The stares were beginning to feel like needles piercing into his skin from every angle. Oh, what would his mother say to this?

"Ash Ketchum!" Delia screeched. "You do not talk to a fellow student like that! Now, say you're sorry!" Ash was silent, glaring headedly at her. "Don't you glare at _me_, Ash! Say you're sorry to Stu!"

"Uh, it's Drew," Drew said quietly.

"Sorry... Drew... Say sorry to Drew, Ash!" Ash was silent. "_Ash_! _Say you're sorry right this instant or I'll ground you for the rest of eternity_!"

"Just _shut up_, Mom!" Ash screamed back, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

Delia, in complete and utter shock, dropped backwards on her seat in surprise, her eyes wide and her mouth open. "W-What?"

"I said shut up, Mom. I've been tolerant... all the way through class, I've been tolerant. I've put up with you embarrassing me out of my mind in every way known to man. You've babied me, you've shouted at me... you've even gone over what I used to do as a three-year-old! All to my History class!"

"Take it easy, will you?" Drew muttered.

Ash rounded on him. "And you can shut it too! You didn't come to my aid at any point, did you? No! Nobody did! All anybody in this class saw in me was entertainment! 'Oh, let's see how _else_ we can embarrass Ash, shall we?' Well, I've had enough of it!"

For a few moments, the classroom was so deathly quiet, one could hear a pin drop. Nobody moved... nobody breathed... and the silence was grating. Finally though, Delia took in a huge gulp of air. Ash spun to face her, fury in his features, before he noticed her waterlogged eyes. He immediately softened.

"Ash..." Delia muttered.

"Mom, I..."

Delia held up a hand to halt him, but, sniffling, she placed it to her nose. "I-It's okay, Ash... I'm sorry... I-I didn't know that you... felt that way." Pulling out another tissue, having discarded the other one a while back, she blew her nose and stood up. "Class... I'll be back in a short while, okay? You just... get on with your work until then."

As soon as she was out of the room, every pair of eyes in the class turned angrily towards Ash, fire practically burning deep within each and every person's soul.

"What did you have to go and do that for, huh?"

"Yeah, you big jerk!"

"Upsetting your own mother like that!"

"Can't you take a joke?"

"She was only being nice!"

Ash sighed. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he replied. "And I'll tell my mom that as soon as she gets back from... wherever it is she went."

Giselle groaned. "Isn't it _obvious_ where she went?" she asked, irritated. "The staff bathroom, of course!"

"Gee, I'm really sorry I didn't know that, alright? I promise I'll apologise as soon as she comes back!"

"You'd better!"

"Yeah, the poor woman!"

"She deserves a better son than _you_!"

"Gah!" Ash cried out, banging his fists on his desk.

* * *

Delia Ketchum returned to the classroom five minutes before the end of the lesson only to be confronted with an uncomfortable-looking Ash, who was staring at the fidgeting fingers on his desk, being glared at from all angles.

"Well, I'm back," she announced uncertainly. "Um... what's going on here?"

Ash looked up at her. "Mom..." he replied, "I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to... upset you like that."

For a moment, Delia said nothing, blinking at him... then her face split into a warm grin. "It's okay, Ash... I understand. I was far too over-bearing and I drove you to breaking point. I'm sorry too."

Ash smiled back. "Thanks, Mom."

Delia looked back at the rest of the class, who were all wearing smiles. "Well, the bell's about to ring, so, if you'll all gather up your stuff, you can leave."

The class hurriedly scrambled up their belongings and, as soon as the bell rang, dashed from the room, save for Ash and, to his surprise, Drew.

Ash raised an eyebrow at him. "Why are you still here? You not leaving?"

Drew smirked. "Oh, you _want_ me to leave?" he asked.

"Well, I never said _that_... I just-"

"Don't worry... I'm leaving now." Grabbing his books, Drew took off towards the door, but, reaching the doorframe, he stopped. "See you round." He then disappeared.

Ash stared after him for a moment before turning to his mother. "Hey, Mom."

Delia turned to her son. "Hey, Ash."

"Are you... okay now?"

"Yes, I'm fine... and I promise never to agree to being a substitute teacher ever again."

"Well... you know... you're a pretty good teacher... it's just that..."

"I know... I'm an embarrassment." She gently ruffled his hair, beaming at him. "Now, you run along, okay? I'll meet you back at home later tonight."

"Okay." Ash grabbed his books and headed for the door. "See you, Mom."

"Bye, sweetie."


	9. Treading Dangerous Waters

****

Chapter Nine: Treading Dangerous Waters

Three days after Ash had told her and Misty about his mother being a substitute teacher in his History class, making it the final Thursday of September, May Styles trudged down the corridor of Blue Moon Junior High, heading for her locker, her puffy red eyes staring at the floor as she did so... and why _wouldn't_ she be upset? Not long ago, she'd found out that her beloved pet cat, Ginger, whom she loved more than anything else in the world, had fallen violently sick and was in need of an urgent trip to the veterinarian.

_Oh, I really hope she's okay... _she thought desperately. _I want to see her! I want to be there for her! But no! "You've got school to go to" my mom says..._

May, fighting back the large lump in her throat, reached her locker and began to unlock it. All she'd been thinking about all morning was Ginger and how worried she was about her. The fluffy ginger cat had been her companion ever since she was a baby, so the two had grown very close over the years. Whenever May was upset, Ginger would be able to tell and would hop onto her lap or rub against her leg. Whenever Ginger was upset, May would know about it and cuddle up to her, stroking her silky smooth fur.

"Why, hello there," a young male voice greeted from behind her. May sighed, too depressed to say anything in return, and opened her locker, pulling out her morning books. Drew chuckled. "What? You ignoring me now?"

"Yes, Drew..." May replied, closing her locker and beginning to lock it, "I am."

"Well... how rude."

Finally, May looked round at Drew, who had one hand in his pocket and was flipping his green follicles with the other, which was then placed inside his other pocket. If she wasn't so upset about Ginger, she would've rolled her eyes; that particular action had become a typical 'Drew thing', which was the phrase she'd always use when speaking of the little things he liked to annoy her with to Ash and Misty.

"Look, Drew... I'm really not in the mood today."

Drew chuckled. "Not in the mood for _me_? It must be serious."

May gave him a blank look. "I'm _never_ in the mood for you."

"Yeah right. You can't resist me really."

May scoffed. "Dream on."

"I don't _have_ to dream. Girls go crazy over me; it's a fact."

"Well, not _this_ girl."

Drew chuckled and flipped his hair again. "Whatever."

"Just go away."

"You don't want me here? I'm hurt."

"Lay off the sarcasm, will you?"

Drew smirked. "Being catty happens to be a habit of mine." May's heart felt like a knife had been thrust straight through it at the mention of the second word. "It _has_ been for as long as I can remember." He suddenly looked worried as he noticed tears were welling up in her eyes. "Hey... did I say something wrong?"

May shook her head. "I-It's nothing... really."

Drew frowned as a tear dripped down her cheek. "Stop lying. Nobody cries about nothing."

May released a hand from her books and wiped her eyes with the back of it. "No, really... it's nothing, Drew." Her tone was a tad harsher this time.

"No, it's _not_ nothing."

May scowled. "Fine! You really wanna know? My cat, Ginger, was really ill and had to be taken to the vet this morning! Happy now?"

Drew's frown disappeared and he looked confused. "Is that all?"

May stared at him. "What do you mean, 'Is that all?'?"

Drew shrugged. "I thought it'd be something more serious, like your grandma died or something... but, if it's just about a dumb cat, then it's not worth worrying about."

May suddenly felt her entire soul burn with fury. How dare he say that her cat, her best friend and companion her whole life, wasn't worth worrying about! How dare he insinuate that cats weren't on the same level as humans! How dare he! How _dare_ he!

Before she knew it, her hands were clasping her books with such force that any more pressure might crush them... plus, her teeth were grinding so harshly together that any more strain would cause them to chip and break away.

Again, Drew flipped his hair. "I never liked cats, in case you haven't guessed."

"No, I gathered that pretty well."

"Well, you know what _I_ say?"

"No... what _do_ you say?"

"That, if Ginger dies of this sudden illness, at least that's one less cat in the world."

May spluttered in disbelief. "_W-What_?"

"You heard me. Cats are filthy creatures that only come to you when they want something. They're scheming, conniving little dirtbags and should all be eliminated from the world."

Something inside May snapped and rage completely consumed her. Dropping her books to the floor with a loud clatter, she raced forward and slammed him against the opposite locker, him staring at her in shock.

"Don't you _dare_ insult Ginger! Don't you _dare_ hope for her death!" She grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulled him forwards and slammed his head back into the locker. "Don't you _dare_ say, in front of a girl who's lived her whole life with a cat, that all cats are filthy and disgusting and should be wiped from the planet!" Drew, unable to say anything, just blinked at her. "You think you're Mr. Fantastic with your little fangirls and your good looks, don't you? Well, guess what _I_ think! I think it should be _you _that's wiped from the planet! What do you think of that, Grass Stain? Yeah, I can come up with stupid nicknames too! Funny, isn't it? _Isn't it_?" Releasing him, she stormed back over to her books, picked them up and glared at him. "Next time, keep your biased opinions towards the felines of the world to yourself, _got it_?" Drew merely blinked again in response. "Good." May smirked. "I'm glad we have an understanding. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to get to."

* * *

At home, Drew O'Cadhla, while lying on his bed and staring at the ceiling, recalled what had happened that day with the girl he still didn't know the name of, his mind being engulfed in some awful, unbearable feeling that he recognised as guilt. Now, it wasn't often that he felt guilt, but, today, he had to admit, he'd gone a little too far; that much was obvious as soon as the girl had slammed him into the opposite locker in a blind rage.

It'd felt like he was a lonely deer, going about its daily business, before being aggressively pounced on by a hungry leopard. He'd suddenly got that image in his mind when his head had hit metal very painfully. Looking into her eyes, he'd noticing blazing fury so powerful, he'd been willing to bet she would've eaten him alive if she'd felt the urge.

Now, as he heard his mother calling him downstairs for dinner, he realised that maybe he should've been a bit more considerate about her sick cat, which she'd mentioned, while screaming at him like a banshee, was a very close friend of hers and meant a lot to her.

_Maybe I should do something to make it up to her... _he thought as he stood up and walked through his bedroom door, heading for the stairs, _but how? Is there anything at all I can do to amend the situation?_

As he reached the bottom, he turned into the kitchen, grabbed the tray with his meal on it and headed for the front room. Planting himself on the couch, he began to eat while watching the nature documentary that one of his parents had put on.

"That okay for you?" his mother asked from the doorway.

"Yeah, thanks, Mom," Drew replied.

"Good."

At the sound of the door closing, Drew grabbed the remote and began channel-flipping, hoping to find something interesting to watch while he ate his chicken burger, fries and salad.

* * *

"Having that thing inside doesn't make you an animal," the purple-haired girl said. "Knowing when to let it out... is what makes you a man."

"Hmm..." the green-skinned boy replied, "maybe you should call me... Beast _Man_ from now on."

Drew changed the channel.

"Uh, you're saying it _wrong_; it's _Timmy_, with an 'I'," the brown-haired boy said while leaning on his window sill.

"As in _I_ love _Tommy_ now!" the black-haired girl down below replied. "He's nice to me; he'd ever do anything to hurt me." She began leaping up and down. "Where is he? Where is he? Where _is_ he?"

Drew changed the channel.

"Goo..." the brown-haired boy said, "I'm really sorry... and, if it's not too much trouble... I really wanna be your friend too."

He looked at his friend before a horrified expression crossed his face; she was grinning at him like a loon.

"Okay!" the brown-skinned girl replied, grabbing him in a death hug.

"Uh... that's... great... Uh... you're... crushing me..."

Drew changed the channel.

"It's not _your_ heart Tommy wants..." the ginger-haired boy said, munching, "is it, Tommy?"

"Don't talk with your mouth full, Gus," the blonde-haired boy muttered.

"In other words, don't talk _ever_," the brown-skinned girl snapped.

Drew changed the channel.

"Tucker, I'm _so_ sorry..." the black-haired girl said, lifting a strange contraption from her brown-skinned friend's head.

"You're beautiful when you're racked with guilt," the black-haired boy said, tilting his head to one side.

"Not now, Danny..."

* * *

A while of channel-flipping later, Drew landed back on the first programme he'd looked at after changing over from the nature documentary and decided to leave it on that while he finished off his meal.

A group of five teenagers walked out of a museum, each carrying some priceless artefact, until something red and yellow zoomed past them, swiping whatever they had clean from their hands, but leaving the pink-haired girl holding a rose.

_Wait... a rose... _Drew thought. _I could give one of the roses in my room to that girl, couldn't I? Hmm... but wouldn't that look a little suspicious? I mean, people might start thinking I really like her or something... Then again, what do __**I**__ care? She deserves some kind of apology... Wait... I know... I could say it's for Ginger. That way, it won't look as weird and I can get rid of this guilt... and come to think of it, it'll be partly for the cat anyway. _Drew smiled. _Yeah... I'll do __**that**._

* * *

The next day, May Styles was by her locker, pulling out her morning books. Today, she wasn't miserable, as Ginger had turned out to be just fine. All that was needed was a good night's rest and, this morning, the cat had been as cheerful and perky as always. May had almost cried in happiness when Ginger had jumped on her that morning, despite how tired she'd felt.

"Hey there," a voice from behind her said. May turned and saw Drew stood there, smirking, with one hand behind his back. "How's Ginger?"

May frowned at him. "Like _you_ care," she snapped. "Only yesterday, you told me how much you'd love to see her _dead_."

"Yeah, I know."

May scoffed. "I'm surprised you've got the courage to come near me again after what happened."

Drew flipped his hair with his free hand. "Slamming my head into a locker may have hurt, but it didn't wrack my brain enough to be afraid of you."

"Hmph... well, I wish it had."

"Charming. Well, anyway, I brought a present." Drew brought round his hand and thrust a rose in her face. She squealed in shock and jumped backwards. Drew chuckled. "What? It's not like it's a deadly weapon or anything." May stared suspiciously at him. "Well, go on... take it."

May, blushing slightly, took the rose from his hand and held it up to inspect it. A rose? Why had he given her this? Since when did boys give girls roses?

"F-For me?" She smiled softly as the beautiful smell of the rose filled her nostrils. _There's no mistake... it's a real rose, _she thought.

"Well, not really." Drew flipped his hair. "It's actually for Ginger."

May raised an eyebrow at him. "Ginger?"

"Yeah... Since the cat's the one I insulted, the cat's the one I should apologise to, right?"

"... I... guess..."

"What? You'd prefer it if the rose was for _you_?"

May frowned. "No!"

Drew smirked. "Okay... no need to get testy."

May looked away, twisting the stem of the rose in her hand. "I'm not _getting_ testy."

"_Sure_ you're not."

"... So... this rose... it's really for Ginger?"

"Well, yeah. It's not gonna be for _you_, is it?"

"Well, I would've thought so, since I was the one you ticked off."

"Well, it's _not _for you."

"But you handed it to _me_!"

"Obviously, 'cause there's no way I can hand it to Ginger, now, is there?" May, unable to say anything in response, just huffed and slammed her locker door shut, beginning to lock it. "But hey... if it bothers you _that_ much..."

"It _doesn't _bother me."

"Could've fooled _me_."

"Look, Drew... I dunno _what_ game you think you're playing, giving Ginger a rose, but-"

"I insulted her, so I'm apologising. What's so hard to understand about _that_?"

"She's a cat! Since when do people give someone else's cat roses?"

"Hey, it was you that insisted cats should be given human rights. I'm just following through with it."

"But... but..." May waved the rose in front of his face. "A _rose_, of all things?"

"Oh, you have a problem with it?"

"No, I just-"

"Then stop whining like an infant."

"I'm _not_ whining like an infant!"

Drew flipped his hair. "Sure sounds like it to me. Look, why don't you just hurry along to your lesson, get on with your day and give that rose to Ginger when you see her, okay? In the meantime, I've got things to do _myself_." Walking to his locker, he opened it, took out two books and closed it again, locking it. He then turned around and began walking off. "Be sure to tell the little furball who the present's off, okay?"

As soon as he disappeared round the corner, May stared in disbelief at the rose in her hand. Roses were the most romantic flower a boy could possibly give a girl... but it wasn't for her, it was for Ginger... but that didn't make any sense. Since when did a boy give a girl a rose, then say it's a present for her previously sick cat he'd previously insulted and wished dead?

_Jeez..._ she thought, turning and walking down the corridor, _junior high just keeps getting weirder and weirder..._


	10. May Against the World

Author's note: I'm so sorry. I know I've taken a long time with this update, but it's all this stupid college homework I've been getting lately. (shoots teachers)

Anyway, this chapter is _fully_ dedicated to Random May Fan, lizzle2507 and Miich for guessing the shows Drew flips through correctly and _partially_ dedicated to Megaman-NG and KugaNatsuki because they tried. Lastly, I own Brianna's last name.

EDIT: By the way, sorry, but the fact that Brianna is kinda OOC is due to me writing this chapter _before_ seeing the episode that she was in. Aheh. However... think about it: underneath that niceness _is_ a Drew-obsessed psycho. XD

**Chapter Ten: May Against the World**

"Drew gave you a _what_?" Misty screeched at recess, her bag falling from her grip and smacking into the concrete floor.

May sighed, moving her hand from its position behind her back to the front and holding up the rose for her friends to see. The two stared at it in disbelief, their eyes widening in shock.

"I can't believe he'd do something like that," Ash muttered.

"I know," May replied. "I couldn't believe it either... but he did."

Misty glanced up into May's eyes. "Y'know..." she said slowly, "if I didn't know any better... I'd say this means he... likes you."

May stared at her for a second, glanced at Ash, who was looking baffled, then looked back at Misty before bursting into laughter.

"Well, it's a good thing you _don't_ know any better, hey, Mist?"

"What do you mean? Why else why he give you a rose?"

"Oh, did I forget to mention? It's for Ginger."

Ash blinked stupidly at her. "Your cat?" he asked.

"Um, yeah. How many other Gingers do you know?"

"And... why would he give your cat a rose?" Misty asked, folding her arms across her chest and raising an eyebrow.

"'Cause he'd insulted her and was apologising to her about it."

Ash shook his head. "That doesn't make any sense," he said.

"Huh? Which part? The insult or the apology?"

"Not that. I mean what guy, in his right mind, would give a girl a rose to give to a cat? It's just weird... and disgusting." He caught Misty glaring at him from the corner of his eye. "What?"

Misty huffed and looked away. "So insensitive," she mumbled.

* * *

As May approached her next class, Sewing, she spotted a group of chattering girls huddled together. She thought nothing of this until one of them noticed her and gasped, causing the others to turn round and gasp as well.

May began to feel very uncomfortable; they were staring at her unblinkingly, a couple with their mouths slightly open. A moment later, however, they looked away and began gossiping. Shaking her head, May tried to ignore them as she leaned against the wall.

"Hey! Are you that girl?"

May glanced up at the girls, who had their knuckles on their hips and were glaring at her.

"Is the rumour true?"

"Did it really happen?"

"'Cause it's never happened before."

"... Wait... what?" May asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"You know perfectly well what!"

"Yeah, don't act like you don't know!"

"'Cause everyone knows!"

"No, honestly," May said, "I have no clue what you're-"

"_Where is it_?"

"Yeah, what've you done with it?"

"Where's _what_?" May asked.

"_The rose_!" they all screeched at once.

May, taken aback, merely blinked at them. "Uh... how did you...?"

"A friend of yours saw you get a rose off Drew."

"Yeah and it ticked her off _big_ time."

"Oh," May replied. "Who was that then?"

"Brianna."

* * *

Standing in the lunch line, May fidgeted with the rose in the bag around her waist, still feeling a little guilty about her friend. She knew Brianna liked Drew very much - she'd told her enough times during homeroom - so she knew the girl how the girl must've been feeling after seeing the passing of the rose. Hearing a squeal, she turned to find herself being crowded by a few over-excited girls.

"Oh, wow! Is it true?"

"Did you, like, get a rose off Drew?"

"Can I hold it please?"

"Can I take a picture of it?"

"Can I have it and pretend it's for me?"

"Uh-" May replied, cutting herself short as she glanced over one girl's shoulder.

She noticed a large number of girls glaring murderously at her in one area of the lunchroom. Feeling awkward, she avoided their eyes, looking elsewhere in the room... and saw the exact same thing; almost every female's eyes she could she were shooting daggers at her. She tried to avert her eyes from them, but she couldn't; all over the room, she was being glared at.

Her face burning a bright crimson, May suddenly wanted the ground beneath her to open up and swallow her whole, just to get out of the spotlight; it was killing her to get this much attention.

_Why did I have to wear a red outfit? _she thought, making a mental note to kick herself later. _Of all the colours to like, it had to be one of the most noticeable ones..._

* * *

Later, the three friends were sat outside on the warm grass, soaking up the afternoon sun. Misty had suggested going there instead of a usual bench, just to get May away from as many glaring girls as possible... and the brunette was very thankful for it.

Soon enough, however, she was found by the one girl she'd been hoping not to encounter: Brianna. The girl came striding furiously up to her and stopped directly in front of her. May looked up to see fury burning in her eyes and had a sudden urge to run away.

"Um... hi, Brianna," she said, her mouth managing something that vaguely resembled a smile.

Brianna's face contorted, her fists clenching tightly together. "Don't give me that!" she snapped. "I wanna know about what I heard and I wanna know _now_!"

May blinked. "Aheh, well... Drew gave me a rose to-"

"So it _is_ true!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"How dare you! How _dare_ you!"

"Excuse me," Misty interrupted, "but how dare she what?"

Brianna rounded on her. "Don't act like you don't know!"

"Um..." Ash helplessly added.

Brianna turned back to May. "How dare you get a rose from Drew when I am so _clearly_ his destined wife!"

May's eyes widened before she glanced at Ash and Misty to check their reactions; their eyes had widened considerably too. Turning back to Brianna, she opened her mouth to say something, but, unable to think of a single word, closed it again.

"Say _what_?" Misty asked, accurately voicing her thoughts.

"You heard me!" Brianna replied. "I knew from the very first moment I laid eyes on Drew that he was my true love!" The three friends just blinked at her. "Okay, that's a lie. I _liked_ him as soon as I saw him... but, when I walked over to him that day, and said the weather was nice, to spark up a conversation, what did he do? He turned away from me and said 'Whatever'!"

"Uh, yeah..." May said, "I saw that."

"So, then, I guess you saw how upset I was. You see, no boy I've ever liked has liked me back! I'm always ignored! Always the annoying little fangirl! But not this time! This time, I went to see a psychic. Guess what she said, May?"

"Uh... don't know."

Brianna smirked. "Well... I asked her if he, Drew O'Cadhla, and I, Brianna Montgomery, would make a good couple... and she said that we were destined to be together for the rest of eternity!" She clasped her hands together as he eyes twinkled with emotion. "That we would become lovers in the near future, get married, have three children, grow old together and die in each other's arms!" She dropped her arms as her smirk returned. "What do you think of _that_?"

May just blinked at her, dumbfounded, before Misty spoke.

"You're taking advice from a crystal-gazer?" she asked.

Brianna frowned. "Yes! And she happens to be a true Seer! I can feel it!"

"Pfft! As if! There's no such thing as a 'true Seer'."

Brianna's mouth twisted unpleasantly. "Yes, there is! And I went to see one! And she said Drew and I are soul mates, so why the heck has he given May a rose?"

"If you'll let me explain..." May said, "yesterday, Drew insulted my cat, so I smashed him into a locker." Three gasps followed, but she ignored them. "And told him never to wish her dead. The next day, he came back to me with a rose and said it was for her as an apology. It's not for me."

Brianna blinked in confusion. "The rose... was for... your cat?"

"_Yes_."

For a few moments, there was complete silence... then Brianna spoke. "Your cat... So, I got all hyped-up... for nothing?"

"Sure did," Ash said.

"Oh..." Silence, once again, followed. "Sorry, May."

"Eh... it's alright," May replied, waving a hand in dismissal. "Sit with us until the bell rings, if you like."

"Um... okay... thanks." Brianna sat down beside May with her legs crossed.

May chuckled. "You didn't really think Drew was hitting on me with that silly old rose, did you? I mean, come on... that'd be about as likely as Pokemon walking the Earth around us."

Brianna chuckled too. "Yeah, I guess you're right."

May winked. "You don't need to worry; I'm not going to steal your precious Drew away from you. Trust me, he's all yours."

Brianna blushed, throwing a hand behind her head and scratching her neck. "Aheh... um... thanks."

"No problem."

* * *

Later that day, May was finally back at home... and the first thing she did, after heaving a deep sigh and throwing her bag to the floor, was a combination of slumping on the living room couch and channel-flipping. One and a half hours later, Max walked in, having just been picked up in the car and the journey having taken half an hour. May sighed again, slumping further into the couch.

"Something wrong, May?" Max asked, sitting beside her.

"No..." May replied, staring blankly at the television.

"You sure?"

"Yes..."

A short silence followed and May continued to stare at the game show, which looked vaguely like Catchphrase, playing directly in front of her, deadening herself to the world, picturing Drew handing her the rose over and over again.

"You definitely sure, May?"

"_Yes_, Max," May snapped, suddenly irritated that he wouldn't just leave her in peace. "I'm fine."

"Hmph... well _sorry_ for being so _concerned_."

"So you should be. In future, just don't bother talking to me."

"Fine, I won't!"

"Fine!"

Standing up, Max stormed out of the room and up the stairs, his feet thudding against the floor, before slamming his bedroom door shut. May sighed again.

* * *

Later, May was chatting to various people on MSN when Ginger came from nowhere and rubbed against her leg, purring gently. Looking down at her, May smiled softly, reaching to her and stroking her silky smooth fur.

"Oh yeah, Ginge," May said, trying not to laugh, "I've got a present for you from Drew." Ginger purred in response.

Getting up, she headed across the room to her little yellow bag, still lying on the floor near the couch. Zipping it open, she first pulled off her left glove, passing it to her right hand, before reaching in and feeling around. After a moment, her hand brushed against a leaf and, grabbing the stem, pulled out the rose.

"What's that you have, sweetheart?" Caroline asked, entering from the kitchen.

May turned to face her mother, presenting the rose in her bare hand. "A present from Drew, Mom."

Caroline's eyes sparkled. "Oh, how sweet!" Lifting up her hands, she clasped them under her chin, a huge smile on her face. "Young love!"

May nearly fell over in shock. "_W-What_?"

Caroline giggled. "Oh, don't play dumb, May. If a boy gives a girl a rose, it obviously means he feels a great deal of affection for her."

"_Mom_! The rose isn't-"

"Oh, I haven't been this excited since I gave birth to Max eight years ago!"

"But, Mom..."

"My little girl's got an admirer!"

"Mom..."

"Do you love this guy too or is it unrequited?"

"_Mom_! The rose isn't for me!"

Caroline blinked stupidly, her arms dropping to her sides. "What?"

"It's not for me. Drew insulted Ginger and I attacked him, so he apologised by giving me a rose to give to _her_."

Caroline blinked again. "Oh... o-okay then." Turning, she walked silently back into the kitchen.

May sighed, shrugging to Ginger, who rubbed against her leg and purred, before the brunette walked over to the dark blue vase resting on the window-sill and picked it up. She turned back round and smiled at Ginger.

"Say, Ginge... would you mind if I put your rose in this vase? 'Cause if I just give it to you, it'll no doubt get ruined. You seem to have a thing with ripping whatever you're given to shreds." Ginger meowed, swishing her tail from side to side, and May beamed. "Thanks, girl." May then took the vase to the kitchen and filled it up with water. Once she retuned, she replaced it on the window-sill, dropped in the rose and stepped back, knuckles on her hips, to admire her handiwork. "Not bad, is it, girl?" Ginger purred, pawing at her leg. _Now, if only it was as simple to convince everyone that Drew and I are not and will not ever be in love... _she thought, cringing. _Just the very thought is enough to give me nightmares._

She couldn't, however, resist giving the rose-filled vase before her one last smile before seating herself, once again, on the computer chair, suddenly noticing she'd been nudged several times; she'd forgotten to turn the volume on, so she hadn't heard a sound.


	11. Making Sweet Music

Author's note: Okay, well, some of these ideas were created by Megaman-NG when I got writer's block and asked him for help... but the music idea is mine.

**Chapter Eleven: Making Sweet Music **

It was Friday evening, signifying the end of the first week in October, and May and Misty were stood together on the porch of the Ketchum residence, their homework assignments held within their grasp. Misty knocked on the door and, not long after, Ash's mother, Delia, answered.

"Oh, hello, girls," she said pleasantly. "Ash mentioned you were going to show up." Moving to one side, she gestured for them to enter. "Please... come in."

"Thanks," both girls said, entering one at a time.

Upon entering, Delia closing the door behind them, they spotted Ash walking in from the other room. He smiled and picked his homework assignment up from the couch arm.

"Hey," he said. "We can do our homework in _my_ room." He gestured toward the stairs.

"Okay," Misty replied.

"You got your pens and pencils or do you need to borrow some?"

"No, we got 'em," May said, "ain't we, Mist?"

"Mmm hmm," Misty replied, nodding.

"Okay, then... let's get upstairs."

Slowly, the three walked up the stairs, Ash in the lead, Misty behind him and May bringing up the rear, each holding onto the banister as they went.

When they were finally there, Misty looked around the Pokemon-covered room; there was a Pokemon bedspread, a Pokemon pillowcase, a Pokemon lampshade on the ceiling light, plastic Pokemon figurines lining the shelves, a Pokemon rug, a Pokeball alarm clock with a pop-up Pidgey in it on the bedside cabinet and even a large cuddly Snorlax in the corner. Not only that, but, completely contrasting to the rest of the room, there was a red and white electric guitar hanging on the wall and a small black amplifier on the floor beneath it.

* * *

Fairly soon, all three friends were positioned around the room. Ash was lying on his stomach on the floor, his homework on a clipboard in front of him, his black Swellow pen in his hand, while the girls sat on the bed, since he'd very kindly offered it to them. May was leaning back against the headboard, a clipboard with her homework on it resting on her knees, which were almost up to her chest, her purple Beautifly pencil in her hand and her Eevee eraser on the bed next to her. Misty was sat cross-legged a short distance from May, a clipboard with her homework on it on her lap, her blue Azurill pen in her hand.

All three had taken their shoes off and placed them in a corner by the door and were now about to start their assignments.

"So... what's everybody gotta do?" Misty asked, glancing at each of her friends in turn.

"Answer some questions for Woodshop," Ash replied.

"Draw something that means a lot to me for Art..." May replied, "and be original about it."

Misty chuckled. "Well, it better not be Drew that you draw," she muttered.

May shot daggers at her. "Now, what makes you think I'd want to draw _him_?"

"Oh, I dunno..." Ash commented in a casual manner, "Flower Boy can be pretty nice when he _wants_ to be." Misty snorted, smirking.

"Hmph..."

"So, what're you gonna draw, if not that?" Misty asked.

May shrugged. "No clue." A slight pause followed. "Hey, you never said... What's _your_ homework about?"

"Oh yeah... well, I gotta write a two-page essay on natural disasters for Geography."

"Ah, right."

* * *

A little while later, Misty was halfway through her essay, though was starting to struggle. Glancing at May, she noticed that the girl was contentedly drawing away on her previously blank piece of paper and Misty wondered what she could be drawing. Glancing down at Ash, she almost sighed as she noticed the boy lying on his back, looking thoroughly bored, his Woodshop questions still unanswered.

Suddenly, without warning, Ash sat himself up, shifted position, so that he was on his knees, and crawled over to his amplifier, turning it on and plugging in the guitar.

"Um... Ash?" Misty asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Mmm?" Ash replied, rising to his feet and pulling his Stratocaster off the wall.

"What are you doing?"

Ash chuckled. "What does it _look_ like I'm doing?"

"It looks like you're planning on playing your guitar... but surely you wouldn't do that when we're trying to concentrate on our homework?"

Ash merely blinked at her before his mouth spread into a grin and he slung the guitar strap over his shoulder. Misty groaned.

"Come on, Mist... we deserve a break for a little while."

"But you haven't even _attempted_ your Woodshop questions."

"So? It's not like they have to be in for tomorrow, is it? I mean, tomorrow's Saturday."

Misty rolled her eyes. "I know, but it would nice, for once, if you wouldn't procrastinate."

"Pfft!" A short pause followed. "Wait... procrasawhata?"

Misty sighed through her nostrils. "It means that you shouldn't delay! It'll do you no good in the long run always saying, 'I'll do it later', now, will it?"

"Look, will you just get off my back?"

"Hmph..." Misty folded her arms across her tiny yellow button-up jacket and turned away. "Fine... whatever."

Settling back onto the floor, Ash made some adjustments on the guitar. After a few moments, Misty glanced back at him as he plucked a few strings and noticed him smile, apparently pleased with the sound it made. Finally looking up, he glanced at each girl in turn.

"So... any requests?"

"How about getting your homework done?"

It always really aggravated Misty that Ash would put off his homework until the last minute, causing it to look rushed and untidy when he handed it in the next day. How was he ever going to do well if he never took his time on the thing?

"Yes, _Mom_," came the sarcastic reply.

"_I've_ got a request," May said and Misty scoffed.

May: always the bright, cheerful and optimistic one of the group. Ash appeared to adore the girl at times, since she was always the one to laugh at his jokes, back him up in an argument or comfort him in his time of need. Not only that, but, sometimes, she appeared to be at the same level of carelessness and cluelessness as he was... making _her_, Misty Waterflower, the odd one out.

"Yeah? What?"

Misty looked over at May to see the girl smirking at her and suddenly felt her heart beat quicken. Whatever she was going to suggest, it would have something to do with _her_... she knew it.

"Can you do Just The Girl and dedicate it to Misty?"

Misty's face burned and she shot the filthiest look she could muster in May's direction, but the girl appeared not to notice; her gaze was directed at Ash and nothing else, so that's where Misty decided to look.

Ash scratched his head. "Not sure what song you mean. What does it go like again?"

May giggled. "It's that one I always listen to by The Click 5. It goes..." She started humming the introduction and a mixture of dawning comprehension and utter horror crossed Ash's face.

"Oh..." Ash replied, beginning to blush slightly, "_that_ one."

"Yeah. Can you please play it? I'll even sing along."

Ash looked away. "Well..."

"Aw, come on!"

"... Fine... okay."

Getting his guitar into tune, he began to play the melody and Misty got a strange image of standing on a balcony, watching him serenade her with this very song from down below, him singing the words instead of May... and the thought made her blush even more.

"'She's cold and she's cruel, but she knows what she's doin'..." the brunette sang while Ash strummed away, "she pushed me in the pool at our last school reunion..." Misty very much wanted to look away, but she couldn't; her eyes were fixed on Ash. "She laughs at my dreams, but I dream about her laughter... Strange as it seems, she's the one I'm after."

Upon reaching this line, Ash's face burned even hotter and he simply refused to look Misty in the eyes. Watching him, a huge smile spread across the red-head's face. If he seriously ever serenaded her with this, despite how insulting it was, calling her cold and cruel, she knew she would melt like butter in a microwave.

* * *

Misty wasn't exactly sure how much time had passed, but her and May had been singing along to various songs that Ash had played on his guitar for quite a while... and, currently, he was playing the introduction to Smoke On The Water by Deep Purple and May, gone completely hyperactive, was giggling like a lunatic.

_I know I should be doing my essay,_ Misty thought, _but I'm having __**way**__ too much fun singing along to that adorable lump's guitar._

"Hey, everybody!" Delia called from downstairs. "Dinner's ready!"

"Whoa..." May said, breathing hard, her face bright red from laughing so hard, "didn't know it was that time already."

"Me neither," Ash said, standing up and taking off his guitar before unplugging it, hanging it back on the wall and turning off the amplifier.

* * *

After they'd finished their pork chops, mash potatoes and salad, thanked Delia and put their plates by the sink, the trio went back upstairs to finish their abandoned homework, Ash promising to the girls not to touch his guitar for the rest of the night, so that everyone would be able to concentrate.

As Misty settled back on the bed, placed the clipboard back on her lap and grabbed her Azurill pen, she read over what she'd previously written for her essay, contemplating how best to continue it. In the meantime, as she noticed, Ash was reading his Woodshop questions, scratching his head with the end of his Swellow pen, and May had carried on with her drawing.

Sighing, Misty strained her brain to think of what else to write, but her pen, instead of scratching away on the lined paper, lay immobile in her hand. She was determined to write another page, since, so far, she'd only managed to write _one_, but, unfortunately, all that her mind would think about was Ash's melodic strumming of the guitar... the way his fingers would move so gracefully and professionally across the strings... the way his cute little face would screw up in concentration...

Misty shook her head in an attempt to dispel the thought; now was not the time to be thinking about Ash... despite the fact that all she'd ever wanted since that fateful Valentine's Day was to hold his hand... be his girlfriend... run a hand through his hair... feel his lips on hers...

_Gah!_ she thought, privately mortified about thinking these kinds of things. _Stop it, Misty! Stop it! Stop thinking of him in that way! _Glancing over at him, she noticed that, as he was writing, his left leg was bobbing up and down in the air behind him. _Aww, he looks so cute when he does that... Ah! No! I need to cut that out! _Her expression became defeated. _Whatever possessed me to fall in love with my best friend? I never wanted to... heck no... and he's such a jerk at times... especially to me... always hinting that I'm not as pretty as I __**could**__ be... and that my personality's pretty bad, 'cause I always __**treat**__ him badly. Yeah, I do have a rather fiery temper, but whoever thought it was a good idea to put me with a boisterous loud-mouth with no sense of tact?_

"Say, Mist," Ash said from down below, jerking her from her thoughts, "you done with that essay yet?"

"Uh... no. I... have another page left to do."

Ash groaned. "Come _on_! I'm almost done with my questions! May, what about you? You done with that drawing?"

"Not quite," May replied. Ash groaned again.

* * *

About half an hour later, Misty was finally finished with her essay and, as she was reading through it to check for any mistakes she may have made, May, who'd been shading something in, declared that she, too, had finished.

"Well, let's see it then," Ash said, climbing up onto his knees and peering at May over the edge of the bed.

May turned her clipboard round and displayed the picture that she'd been drawing for her Art class. Misty's eyes widened; it was a Picasso-style picture of the three of them, melded together into one being. She could tell because the deformed person in the drawing had three faces squashed together, each separated by a straight line. The face on the left had one side of May's long hair, half of her bandana, one circular eye in the centre of its face, one ear near its chin and a nose on the side of its face. The one in the middle had Ash's Pokeball symbol hat on its head, two eyes, one horizontal and one vertical, its nose hanging off its chin and a tiny open mouth underneath its eyes. The one on the right had a side ponytail, one circular eye in the centre of its face, one ear near its chin and a nose on the side of its face.

"Wow..." Misty said, "that's an _amazing_ abstract drawing."

"You think so?" May asked.

"Yeah," Ash said.

May beamed. "Thanks."

"So..." Misty said, "_we're_ the things that mean a lot to you?"

"Of course. You _are_ my best friends, after all."

Ash folded his arms on the edge of the bed. "I'm honoured that you included me in your drawing, May," he said. May giggled. "And I'm sure Misty is too, right?"

"Yeah, definitely," Misty replied.

"So... now that we've all finished our homework, what do you wanna do?"

Misty thought about it for a while. What _did_ she want to do? Well, besides declare her undying love for Ash and have him reciprocate it ten-fold, she had nothing in mind. Of course, she'd cut off her right hand before admitting any such thing to him; he was her best friend and, despite May's words on MSN, didn't feel any surer about his feelings towards her.

"How about we go for a walk in the park?" May suggested.

"Mmm... nah."

"Well..." Misty said, "how about we go downstairs and watch TV?"

"Mmm... nah."

"Well..." May said, "how about we play one of your board games? We could play Scrabble... or Guess Who... or Monopoly... or Checkers even."

"Mmm... nah."

"Or we could play Tic Tac Toe..." Misty suggested, "or Hangman... or Pictionary... or something like _that_."

"Mmm... nah."

"Well," May said with a huff, "instead of saying 'no' to everything we suggest, why not come up with something _yourself_? What do _you_ want to do?"

There was a slight pause before Ash glanced in the direction of his electric guitar hanging on the wall.

Misty groaned. "Again?" she asked.

"Hey, yeah!" May said enthusiastically. "Let's have another sing-along to Ash's guitar!"

Misty sighed, rolling her eyes. "Do we _have_ to?"

"Aww, come on! Please?"

"... Fine... alright."

"Yay! Go get it, Ash!"

Ash, beaming, went to retrieve his beloved instrument and Misty felt herself glow on the inside; just seeing the boy's face light up with excitement was enough to make her happy she'd said 'yes'.


	12. Piece of Cake

Author's note: The chapter title refers to both the first and second half of the chapter, meaning a different thing in each half.

**Chapter Twelve: Piece of Cake**

It was two weeks and three days after the day spent at Ash's house, singing along to his electric guitar while doing homework, making it Monday morning. It was currently second period and Ash was in his Science class, Misty was in her I.T. class and May, dressed in a dark blue short-sleeved T-shirt, red shorts, dark blue socks and red, yellow, white and dark blue sneakers, was on the field, in her P.E. class.

She was standing in a queue, waiting patiently for her turn in their game of rounders, her bat clutched in her bare hands. The girl in front of her was chatting endlessly to her about how incredibly nervous she was and how she was afraid she'd screw everything up. May tried not to roll her eyes. Instead, she just smiled, nodded and told her not to worry.

When it came to the girl's turn, though, she lost her nerve and begged May to go before her. Again trying not to roll her eyes, May agreed and stepped forward as the girl stepped behind her. She stepped into position and, eyes locked on the ball in the bowler's hand, readied herself.

Only a few seconds passed before the bowler swung her arm and the ball came careening in her direction. Acting quickly, she swung the bat hard and, hitting the ball, sent it flying across the field.

Her team cheered as she raced towards first base, whilst the opposing team went racing after the ball. She'd now tagged first base and was moving on to second, the wind whipping through her brown locks and the bat swinging at her side.

Tagging second base, she moved on to third, noticing with some horror that a member of the other team was running in her direction with the ball, throwing it to a team-mate, aiming to get it to third base before her. Speeding up, she just managed to miss being tagged out. Now all that was left was fourth base.

She pushed her body to its absolute limit to force it to reach its goal, but noticed the ball surpassing her and heading for the outstretched hands of the girl at fourth base.

_No! _she screeched in her own head, desperate to beat the ball and score a point.

To her good fortune, the girl missed the ball by only a few inches and looked behind her in horror, allowing May to soar past her and tag the base, gaining her team the extra point it needed to win the game.

She was met with deafening cheers as she skidded to a halt and dropped her bat, panting slightly in exhaustion, but beaming with pride.

"Way to go!"

"You did it!"

"You won us the game!"

"Final score: 6-5!" Miss Henderson announced. "Time to go back inside!"

As May made her way across the grass, she spotted a boy with a mat of green hair sitting on his purple jacket with his legs spread out, his hands holding him up behind him, smirking at her.

"Hey," he said, giving a curt nod of the head.

"Uh... hey," May replied, raising an eyebrow in question. _What the heck does he want __**now**__? Wait a minute... was he... watching me do P.E.?_

"Nice job with the rounder."

"Um... thanks." _Obviously he __**was**_"Say... why are you here? Why aren't you in class?"

"I _was_... but it finished early, 'cause the teacher had a meeting to go to."

"Oh... and you decided to spend your time watching me play rounders?"

"No... I just thought I'd relax on the grass for a while... but when I saw a girls' gym class playing rounders, I couldn't resist watching." He took one look at her outfit and snorted. "I see you still have no fashion sense."

May frowned, suddenly irritated. "Drew..."

Drew moved his head to one side, causing his hair to flap along with it. From what May could gather, this was the equivalent of flipping his hair. Apparently, he couldn't be bothered moving his hand to do it, so he let his head do it _for_ him.

"I'm just saying... dark blue shirt and red shorts? Not a good combo. It'd be better if it was the other way around."

May rolled her eyes. "First off, I _wanted_ it this way, 'cause I _always_ wear a red T-shirt and no other colour shorts would match these sneakers... second, why must you keep giving me fashion advice like you're some kind of expert?"

"Because..." he replied, flipping his head and hair again, "you need it... and I happen to have a much better fashion sense than you."

May mock-coughed, one fist jumping to her mouth before being lowered again, glancing at his pale green pants. He raised an eyebrow at her and she rolled her eyes again.

"Drew, since when was it a good idea to wear green pants when you have green hair and green eyes? They clash."

Drew's smirk became wider. "Yeah, but at least they're not exactly the same colour... Miss Colour Clash On Legs." May groaned, beginning to walk away. "Oh, don't leave," Drew said sarcastically. "Grace me with your presence a little while longer."

May turned to face him. "I can't."

"Why?"

"'Cause I have to get back to the locker room."

"Why?"

"To get changed."

"Why?"

May's eyebrows furrowed deeply. "To get out of my gym clothes."

"Why?"

"So I'm not wearing them for recess."

"Why?"

"So I don't smell of sweat while I'm with Ash and Misty."

"Why?"

"Look, just stop doing that!"

"Why?"

"'Cause it's annoying!"

"Why?"

"It just is! Now I really need to get back to the locker room!"

"Why?"

"Argh!" May swung a hand at his head, but he dodged out of the way in time, laughing at her. "I really hate you, you know."

"Aww... I'm hurt."

"So you should be." May began walking off.

"Well, see you later at our lockers."

May ground her teeth together. "Oh, joy."

* * *

Finally, it was the end of the day and Drew, thoroughly pleased with the many tiny cakes he'd made in his Cooking class, covered the bowl in cellophane, waiting for the bell to ring. As soon as it did, he picked up the bowl and headed outside.

Breathing in the cool afternoon air, he reflected back on his morning talk with 'that girl', as he sometimes called her. Her P.E. outfit hadn't been _that _bad, but he'd still felt compelled to mess with her... because... well... she was fun to mess with. Not many girls he knew came up with comebacks that fast; usually, they'd just burst into tears and run off... or sulk and walk off.

He was burning to know what the heck her name was. It was nearly the end of October and he still had no clue. He'd spend countless days wondering what it could possibly be. Helen? Chrissie? Monica? Bridget? Phoebe? Veronica? Carol? Trixie? Just what was it?

It really irritated him that, first of all, the girl simply refused point blank to tell him, even on days when he tried a sneak attack, like if she seemed really tired and he'd just pop out of nowhere and ask for her name. What was also bothering him was: why was he so gosh darned interested anyway? What made her so special? What made her different from any other girl, except from the fact that she disliked him? But wait... didn't her friend dislike him too? Then why wasn't he pestering _her_? It was just too confusing.

"Um... h-hi, Drew," a girl with short reddish-brown hair and piercing green eyes that he still couldn't remember the name of said, blushing.

"Hey," he replied, forcing a smile back.

She gulped and stared at her forefingers, which were pressing together. "W-What've you got there?"

"Cakes."

"F-From your... Cooking class?

Drew blinked stupidly at her, though she didn't appear to have noticed, seeing as she wasn't looking at him. The girl knew he did Cooking? When he hadn't even told anyone outside his family? What else did she know?

"Uh, yeah."

"Th-That's... cool. C-Can I... try one?"

"Um... well... I was gonna save them for later..."

The girl turned away, looking awfully sad. "Oh... I'm sorry."

Drew blinked. "Uh, it's okay."

"Well, I'll... see you tomorrow, I... guess."

She finally walked off and, if Drew could've sweat-dropped, he would have, right then and there. 'See you tomorrow?' Wasn't that the sort of thing _friends_ said to each other? He didn't even know her. If he didn't know any better, he'd say she was another creepy stalker. Drew shuddered before making his way to his mother's car.

He stopped, however, once he noticed the girl in red he liked to taunt, standing on the sidewalk, one hand on her hip, glancing down the road. Apparently, the member of her family with a driver's licence was a little bit late in picking her up. Smirking, he casually waltzed over to her.

"Something the matter?" he asked, making her jump.

"Drew!" she screeched, scowling at him.

"Aww... I didn't scare you, did I?"

The girl's right eye twitched. "No, of course you didn't!"

"Right... right... so what's going on? They forget to pick you up?"

"No, my dad _hasn't_ forgotten! He's just late!"

"Mmm hmm... I'll bet he's forgotten you even exist and is sat in front of the T.V., watching the football."

The girl's face screwed up in anger and she swiped back her left fist as if to backhand him with it before letting it drop.

"What's that?" She nodded at the bowl.

"Oh, this? It's the cakes I made in my Cooking class. I haven't tried them yet, but they _must _be good."

"What makes you say that?"

Drew's smirk widened. "My teacher gave them an A for their 'superb quality'."

The girl blinked, peering into the bowl. "No way. Little cakes like these can't get an A. _Anyone_ can bake them."

"Yes, but no one can bake them the way _I_ can."

The girl pulled back and gave him a 'Huh, yeah right' look by raising her eyebrows and lowering her eyelids. Drew found this rather amusing.

"I don't believe you."

_Suspicion confirmed. _"Okay then." Drew freed one hand and pulled off the cellophane. "Try one and you'll see."

The girl stared at the cakes in an 'I'm not eating t_hem_. They could be _poisonous_' way before locking eyes with him and casting him an 'Are you mad?' look. Drew tried not to laugh as he moved the bowl back and forth in a 'Go on. They won't bite' way.

Gulping, the girl reached in and grabbed one, pulling it back out of the bowl. Glancing at him and receiving an approving nod, she raised it to her mouth and bit into it.

Her eyes lit up as she chewed it. "Mmm!"

"See?" Now Drew felt smug. "Good, isn't it?"

The girl gulped down the cake. "'Good'? Are you _mad_? It's-" Her face froze before her mouth finished the sentence, eyes wide in horror, before it regained a cool composure. "Alright, I guess."

Shrugging, she popped the rest of the cake in her mouth and walked over to the nearby trash can, throwing the wrapper in it. Drew restrained himself from bursting out laughing as she returned.

_What the heck was that? _he thought. _Trying not to make it look like I'd really impressed her? Ha! Classic! That had to be the funniest thing I've seen all week! _

Drew faked a cough before covering up the bowl and the girl glared at him from the corner of her eye.

"Drew!" his mother called, making him look in her direction. She'd wound down the tinted window on their silver car and was shooting him an exasperated look, her long lime green and, unlike his, wafer-thin hair blowing in the slight breeze. "Hurry up and get in the car! We have to be at the dentist in half an hour!"

The girl turned to him and smirked. "How ironic that you're going to the dentist the day you bake cakes." Drew rolled his eyes. "Best not eat one or it'll give you cavities."

"I'll keep that in mind." He began walking towards the car.

"What? No witty comebacks? Drew, I think you're slipping in your old age!"

He turned his head to face her. "Ha ha. You know, I'm only a year older than you, so, technically, that must make you pretty old too. Hey, maybe I should start calling you Old Bag from now on."

The girl's knuckles flew to her hips, her brow furrowed and her mouth open in protest. "Drew!"

Drew shrugged. "What?"

"You take that back!"

"Hmm... how about no?"

"Drew!"

Almost to the car, he turned his body towards her and walked backwards. "Hey, I gave you a cake. What more do you want? Now, just let me get in my car in peace, will ya? I have a dentist appointment to get to, so stop harassing me. I know I'm irresistibly attractive, but-"

"You are not!"

Smirking for a final time, he circled round the car and climbed into the passenger seat. Buckling his seatbelt and resting the bowl on his lap, his mother fired up the ignition and drove off.

"Drew? Honey?" she asked, glancing worriedly at him.

"Mmm?" Drew replied, watching a pigeon soar out of the way of the car as it drove down the road.

"Why did you have to be like that? To that girl?" Drew was silent, staring out the windscreen. "What did she do to make you be so... harsh to her?"

"I wasn't _being_ harsh... I was just talking to her."

"No, you weren't, Andrew." Her tone was slightly icier this time.

"Mom, please stop calling me that. You know I don't like it."

"I know... but why would you talk down to her like she was your inferior when she clearly isn't? What's gotten into you, Drew?"

Drew sighed. "I... dunno, Mom. It's just... I get really happy when she gets mad. It's like that 'One man's trash is another man's treasure' kinda thing."

There was silence for a short while before his mother sighed. "You're growing to be more like you father every day... and it's scaring me. Though I do love the man, he's always stuck-up and conceited. Why must you follow in his footsteps?"

Drew said nothing, instead, once again, staring out the window. He was sort of hoping that this wouldn't be history repeating itself... as his father had been this exact same way with his mother when _they'd_ first met... and look how _they _ended up. Drew shuddered.


	13. Jack o Lantern Night

Author's note: I'm really sorry. I wanted this out on Halloween, but my dad hid the computer drive because of me being on so late at night and I haven't been able to get near it in ages.

Anyway, this chapter title was formed from the song title Paper Lantern Night by Trish Thuy Trang... and Misty's costume was Megaman-NG's idea.

**Chapter Thirteen: Jack-o-Lantern Night**

A few days after May had taken and eaten that cake from Drew, which she hadn't told Ash and Misty about, due to the fact that they'd no doubt jump to conclusions about it, it was Halloween Night. The gang had just arrived back at Misty's house after three and a half hours of trick-or-treating and were exhausted; as soon as school had finished at two o'clock, they'd raced home, donned their costumes, met up at Misty's house and been on their way.

Of course, they'd made sure to be back at Misty's for half five, which it was now; they wanted an hour's rest before heading over to the Halloween dance at Blue Moon Junior High, which was set to start at seven o'clock sharp, the doors opening at half six, and had been advertised throughout the school for the last couple of days.

Collapsing on the couch and smiling at one another, they checked their pumpkin-shaped bags they were holding by the handles to see how much candy they'd collected.

"Looks like we all got near enough the same," Ash observed.

"Yeah," Misty agreed. "Now all we've gotta do is wait for the dance later."

Ash groaned. "Aw, man..." he complained, "I hate dancing." Misty rolled her eyes and May giggled.

Once May calmed down, however, she began looking over their costumes. She was wearing a long black robe that touched the floor, a black choker with a black bat dangling from it around her neck, fangs in her mouth, white make-up all over her face and her eyes thickly lined with black make-up; she was a vampire. Ash was wearing a skeleton mask, a long black, hooded cloak that touched the floor and had two holes for the hands to poke through and a skeleton costume underneath, a scythe in his hand; he was the Grim Reaper. Misty had her hair in a plait down her back and was wearing a black pirate hat with an attached green parrot, a black eye patch over her left eye, a short-sleeved red and white-striped T-shirt, blue bell-bottom jeans and black ankle boots; she was a pirate.

May had found it rather amusing watching Ash during their rounds; she'd quite often seen him staring at Misty through the eye holes of his mask when he'd thought no one was watching... as the pirate costume hugged the red-head's frame quite nicely.

Misty turned to her. "Can you believe we found Drew's house before?"

May shook her head, pulling out her fangs. "No," she replied, "I never expected that."

They'd reached a house that had looked like any other in the neighbourhood, knocked on and were shocked to see Drew answer the door, a bowl full of candy in his hands. Of course, he'd recognised May straight away, thanks to her unmasked face and long brown hair that she hadn't bothered to style. He'd then called her 'Bloody Mary' and 'Vampy' before handing over the candy, saying goodbye and closing the door.

"Hey, guys," a voice said from the doorway. Everyone turned to see Misty's sixteen-year-old blonde-haired sister, Daisy, leaning on the doorframe and smiling at them. "You done trick-or-treating?"

"Yeah," Misty replied. "Say... where are Violet and Lily?"

"Upstairs in their rooms."

"Heh... what a surprise." Misty chuckled and Daisy rolled her eyes, still smiling.

May smiled at the teenage girl; she'd always had a strong fondness for all of Misty's sisters. Daisy was always talking to her, Violet, the blue-haired fifteen-year-old, was always lending her CDs and Lily, the pink-haired fourteen-year-old, was always giggling and teasing Ash.

Realising she had to keep an eye on the clock, May glanced up at it; it was quarter to six... so they had an hour and a quarter to go before the dance would start.

* * *

Finally, it was quarter to seven and the dance hall of Blue Moon Junior High was almost completely full of students in Halloween costumes. It was very difficult, May noticed, to tell who anybody was. Of course she knew Ash and Misty, but, as for the rest, she really had no idea.

Looking around at the decorations, she gazed in awe; there were jack-o-lanterns hanging from the ceiling, black wallpaper on all the walls, which was covered with paper skeletons, paper vampires and paper ghosts, cotton wool webs in the corners holding up toy tarantulas and plastic mummies, tables, including a large snack table, with black tablecloths draped over them and four chairs to each table.

Walking over to the large snack table, she grabbed a glass and, pulling the ladle from the bowl in front of her, poured herself some pumpkin juice. Satisfied with the amount in her glass, she replaced the ladle and walked back over to Ash and Misty.

As May pulled out her fangs, pocketed them and sipped her drink, Misty looked around, the parrot on her hat bobbing from side to side. "Good turnout, huh?" she asked, mildly impressed.

"No kidding," Ash replied, swinging his scythe around for effect.

Misty flinched. "Hey, watch it, you moron! You nearly poked my eye out with that thing!"

"Oh... sorry." There was a pause. "Well, maybe I should try harder next time." Misty rolled her eyes in response.

"Hey, guys!" a voice called out, making everyone turn round.

They came face-to-face with a girl with purple pigtails wearing a severely torn green T-shirt and severely torn green pants covered in fake blood, which was red paint, her eyes covered with white contact lenses and all exposed skin covered with fake scars and scabs; she was a zombie.

"Hey, Sakura!" Misty replied. "Nice costume!"

"You too!"

"So, how's your boyfriend lately? He hasn't been online for a while."

"Oh, Tracey's fine; he's just so swamped down with high school work at the moment that he doesn't have much free time."

"Aww."

"How old is he now, anyway?" Ash asked.

"Sixteen." Sakura smiled mischievously. "And I'm only twelve."

"I know... lucky you," Misty said. "Say, isn't he in most of Brock's classes?"

"Yep... _and _they're best friends." Sakura chuckled. "You guys wouldn't even _know_ Brock if it weren't for my 'connections', would you?"

Misty chuckled. "Not likely."

* * *

Ash, Misty and May were holding hands, dancing together to a song they really liked, when Principal Johnson walked in front of the snack table, motioning to the DJ to stop the music, which he did.

"Attention, Blue Moon Junior High!" Principal Johnson called out. Ash, Misty and May ceased their dancing and let go of each other's hands to listen. "It's now eight o'clock and those of you who have been to this dance before should know what I'm about to say." A lot of groaning was heard. "It's now time for the couples hour! Girls to this side of the room," he said, motioning to his right, "and boys to that side of the room," he said, motioning to his left. Everyone moved according to instructions. "Good... now pair up with whoever's opposite you and ask them to dance." He smiled. "Have fun."

As he walked away, May cast a glance at Misty, who seemed rather nervous. Glancing opposite her, she spotted Ash and, if she could sweat-drop, that's what she would have done.

_Great... _she thought sarcastically, _they've paired off together and I'm stuck with someone else. _She looked opposite her and saw someone dressed in a brown werewolf costume. _Even better... a full-body costume... so I don't have even the slightest clue who I'll be dancing with... _Sighing, she walked over to him. He didn't even seem to have noticed her presence, since he'd been looking elsewhere, until she stood directly in front of him. He jumped slightly. "Hi... wanna dance?"

"Uh..." he replied. She blinked at him, then cast a glance at Ash and Misty, who were already on the dance floor, waiting for the music to start up again. She looked back at him and he scratched the back of his neck. "Okay."

"Well... come on then."

She turned around and led him to the dance floor, which was beginning to fill up with couples, all the while disliking the principal more and more for inventing such a stupid system. Why force girls and boys together? What right did he have in doing that? Shouldn't they be allowed to choose their _own_ dance partner?

Stepping into position near Ash and Misty, she looked at her partner, who was looking elsewhere, and wondered who it could possibly be. There was no way of knowing without asking, but, even then, would he tell her?

The music started and everyone on the dance floor began dancing. The ones on the side just ate and drank, generally avoiding all eye contact so as not to be dragged on the dance floor. Shrugging, the werewolf held out his paw and May, smiling slightly, took it.

* * *

A while later, May and the werewolf were still dancing away. The guy had even been a little more daring and put a hand round her waist, so, slightly uncomfortable, yet not wanting to hurt his feelings in any way, she'd put a hand on his shoulder.

On and on they'd danced, even when other couples had given up and gone for a sit down, and May felt so contented; she'd really gotten used to this guy now and didn't feel so awkward dancing with him anymore. As a matter of fact, she really liked it. He was being ever-so gentle with her... and was such a great dancer... plus the fur of his costume was so soft... and was so calming to touch... All the time she'd been dancing with him, she'd just wanted to bury her head in his fur... but she'd resisted; imagine how _that'd_ look.

"Hey," she said, looking directly at his mask, "I just realised... I don't know your name."

"Um..." he replied, "it's... Andy."

"Andy, huh? I'm M-" She stopped and stared at him. "Wait a minute... I don't _know_ an Andy." He was silent and, suddenly, she understood. "Oh, I get it! It's a fake name, isn't it? You're protecting your secret identity."

"Uh... yeah, I guess you could say that... So, what's _your_ name?"

"Oh, uh... it's... Erika."

"No, it's not," he said rather smugly. "It begins with an 'M'."

May looked away. "No, it doesn't."

The werewolf nodded. "Yes, it does, 'cause you nearly told me what it was."

May rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine... then call me... um... Melissa."

* * *

"Attention!" Principal Johnson announced once he'd motioned for the DJ to stop the music. "It's now nine o'clock, so I declare couples hour officially over. You may now return to dancing with the partner or partners of your choice... and as for those of you I had to drag to their partners, please don't make me have to do that again _next_ year."

As he walked off, May stepped away from her partner, letting go of his hand and shoulder and beaming at him, her face bright red from all the dancing. She may have had no idea who he really was, but she'd loved spending an hour being his dance partner all the same... and she'd been sensing a growing closeness throughout.

"Thanks for the dance, Andy," she said.

The werewolf bowed, swinging his left arm to his right and throwing his right arm behind his back. "My pleasure, Melissa," he replied, straightening himself up again.

"Would you like to come with me to meet my friends?"

"Uh... sure. Why not?"

"Great!"

She grabbed his paw and dragged him over to Ash and Misty, who were standing by the snack table. Misty was eating a slice of cake and Ash, his mask lying on the table and his scythe leaning against the table, was sipping a glass of pumpkin juice.

"Hey, Vampy," Misty said once they were stood in front of them, May letting go of the werewolf's paw. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm not really sure... but he calls himself Andy."

Misty blinked. "Oh, okay."

"And I've called myself Melissa."

Ash snorted. "So, you have secret identities now, do ya?" he asked.

May giggled. "Yep, sure do. So, can he hang with us for a while?"

Ash and Misty exchanged glances. "Sure."

"Don't see why not," Misty said.

"Great!" May said, beaming.

* * *

Finally, it was half nine, signalling the end of the night and Ash, Misty and May, standing outside the school, agreed to walk 'Andy' home... him leading the way, of course, since they had no idea where they were going.

"Okay," Misty said, "which way is your house?"

"This way," 'Andy' replied, walking ahead, everyone else following him.

May, speeding up, walked beside him; she wasn't exactly sure why, but she really liked being close to him. The only problem was: what if he turned out to be someone she didn't actually like?

"Nice costumes, by the way," 'Andy' said.

"Oh, uh... thanks," Ash replied.

"Yeah, thanks," Misty added.

"Thanks," May said. "Yours is pretty good too."

"I know. Isn't it?" he replied and May felt a sudden stab of annoyance. He stopped walking. "Well, here we are."

Everyone looked at the house, then back at 'Andy', then back at the house, then back at 'Andy', suddenly speechless.

"Wait..." Ash said, "isn't this... Drew's house?"

The werewolf turned to them and nodded. "Sure is."

"But..." Misty said, "that would mean that..."

'Andy' pulled off his mask to reveal the all-too familiar lime green hair and lime green eyes, the smirk on his face the largest it'd been yet.

"_Drew_?" May asked, flabbergasted.

"In the flesh," he replied. "Oh and I almost forgot." He placed his werewolf head on the front porch, pushed the bottom half of his costume down a fraction, reached into his left-hand pocket and pulled out a rose before pulling his costume back up again and holding out the rose. "Here's a present for you... Melissa."

May, blushing crimson, took the rose from his hand and gawped at it, Ash and Misty following her lead.

"H-Huh?"

Drew chuckled. "When you came trick-or-treating round here earlier and I saw your costume, I thought you deserved another rose for being brave enough to wear it in public."

"Uh... thanks... I guess..."

Drew pushed his werewolf legs down a fraction again, reached into his right-hand pocket, pulled out a key and pulled them back up again. "No problem. Now, if you'll excuse me," he said, picking up his werewolf head and unlocking the door, "I'm gonna go take a shower."

Once he disappeared inside, everyone stared back at the rose in May's hand, its blood red petals and emerald green leaves blowing gently in the slight night-time breeze.

"Well..." Misty said, "that was unexpected."

"Yeah," Ash replied.

May said nothing, enraptured by the rose. All night, she'd been dancing with Drew and had never once suspected it. Only now, standing by his front door, the stem of her second rose clutched between her fingers, did she realise the connection between the fake name and the real name: Andy... Drew... Andrew.


	14. Rockets, Rides and Rage

Author's note: Many apologies. It's way past the date mentioned, I know... but the timeline's been completely thrown off by the hiding of the computer drive and the piles of homework.

Oh and if anyone can think of the name of the ride that May has a go on, please let me know what it is, 'cause I have no idea.

**Chapter Fourteen: Rockets, Rides and Rage**

Five days after May's dance with Drew, which Max had thought incredibly funny and had spent a full five minutes laughing about while his sister grew very red in the face, it was Bonfire Night.

With it currently being seven o' clock, Ash, Misty, May and Max were all at the local park, standing by the bonfire and feeling the immense heat blast them in the face, Ash's mother, Delia, who had opted to bring them all here, standing nearby. Misty's sisters, Daisy, Violet and Lily, hadn't wanted to come, since they'd had 'better things to do than burn near a giant fire and watch explosions in the sky'.

Max Styles leaned heavily against the metal framework and stared deep into the flames, waiting rather impatiently for the fireworks to start; he wasn't interested in a stupid fire... he wanted to see rockets whiz through the night sky and explode in rainfalls of colour above him... then go on a few rides, feeling that glorious adrenalin rush, before heading back home.

"Hey, Misty, you gonna try and win a toy later?" May asked.

"Definitely," Misty replied.

Max rolled his eyes and pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose; toys... one of the things his sister adored almost as much as food. He thought she was much like Ash in that respect; they both loved to eat... although Ash liked anything that was edible and May's preference lay with 'special' food... food that vacation guidebooks said were 'the best of the best'.

He heard a muttered comment from Ash that sounded like, "So childish..." which was soon followed by a thumping sound and an "Ow!" Max quietly groaned; not those two again. He glanced at Ash and Misty to see the former rubbing his left shoulder and pulling a face and the latter looking very pleased with herself. Looking back at the fire, he smirked. Yes, he may have only been eight years old... nine in a couple of weeks' time... but he wasn't as stupid as May seemed to think he was; he knew something was going on between them... he just never said anything because, frankly, it wasn't anything to do with him. If they wanted to keep their feelings for each other secret, that was their business.

Talking of which... just what was the deal with Drew and those roses? May had come home five days ago with yet another one and had plopped it in the vase next to the first one, not saying a word. He'd stared at the rose from his place on the couch, then stared at her. Her face had tinted slightly as she'd said, "What? It's from Drew." He'd been unable to stop laughing afterwards... but that was before he'd read over her shoulder while she was on MSN and seen the words 'i cant believe i was dancing with drew... and i liked it too...' _That'd_ had him in stitches.

* * *

"Wow, that was awesome," May said once the firework display had finished and everyone was clapping, Delia moving off somewhere to speak to a friend, promising to come back in a minute.

"Sure was," Ash agreed. "What was everyone's _favourite_ firework?"

"The Catherine wheels," Misty replied.

"The fountains," May replied.

"The rockets," Max replied.

"Mine was the rockets too," Ash said. "Hey, wanna go ride some rides when Mom comes back?"

"No way," Misty said. "Hook-a-duck first, _then_ rides."

Max groaned. "I hate hook-a-duck..."

"Well, no-one said _you_ had to play," May snapped.

Max rounded on her. "Yeah, well, I'd have appreciated being asked what I wanted to do." He turned to Ash. "I know you don't like hook-a-duck either, so let's go ride some rides."

Ash sighed. "Sorry," he said, "but I think we'd best just wait for them... it won't take long."

Max groaned again. "Oh, so you're siding with them now? You're not all joined at the hip, y'know!"

"I know, but-"

"Look, Max..." May said, patting his head in such a patronising manner that he felt a sharp stab of annoyance, "I'll only be about five minutes, then I'll come on a ride with you, okay?"

"Oh, so now I have to be _accompanied _on every ride?" Max asked, frowning.

May blinked, then frowned. "You remember what Mom said... you're my responsibility."

"Well, I don't like being kept on a leash!"

"Tough... that's what Mom wanted. Wherever I go, _you're_ meant to go and vice versa." Max huffed and turned away just as Delia came back, smiling. "Well, let's go win a toy."

They began walking away when Max, glancing at them, muttered, "Sometimes I think I'm more mature than you."

May froze and pivoted on her heel, facing him with a stern expression, everyone else also turned round. "_What_ was that?"

"You deaf? I said, 'Sometimes I think I'm more mature than you'."

May's face screwed up in anger, her fists clenching at her sides, and Max smirked; if he knew one thing for sure, it was what ticked his sister off the most... calling her immature... which he, personally, thought she was. She always took a stuffed animal to bed with her, was still getting over her fear of the dark and quite often cried in public. He was two years younger than her and he'd never do any of that.

"Don't you dare go into that again."

His smile disappeared. "Or what? What'll my big bad sister do to me?"

He could see the pot was boiling... that her temper was rising... and that Ash and Misty were slowly backing off while Delia blinked stupidly; she was going to blow any second now.

"You little runt! I'm trying to do a duty for Mom and this is what I get?"

"Hey, is it my fault you won't ask _me_ what I want to do _or_ let me go on a ride alone?"

"You're _eight_!"

"_So_? I've got enough pocket money on me to pay for a few stupid rides!"

"We'll be _five minutes_! Are you so impatient that you can't wait that long?"

"When what I'm waiting for is you to win another dumb toy, yeah!"

"Ugh! You're so stubborn it's unbelievable!"

"And you're so ugly it's unbelievable, but nothing can be done about that!"

"Why, you little-!" May took a deep breath. "Fine! Go off on your own! See if I care!"

"Fine, I will!"

"Fine!"

Max, still fuming, stormed off in a random direction, pushing through crowds of people and not looking behind him, even when Delia called out his name. Her voice soon died away in the distance.

* * *

Max had managed to get on the Cyclone, the ride that threw the person on the left quite harshly to their right; luckily, he was sat on the right, so he wasn't sliding, though he _was_ pressing into the side a bit.

He'd only just managed to escape the grasp of Ash and Misty, who had caught up with him quite rapidly and were now standing by the gate, waiting for him, Misty's wrists resting on her hips and Ash's arms folded over his chest.

After a short while of hurtling towards different sections of the fence before being jerked away again, the ride stopped and Max, feeling happy yet slightly dizzy, got off and exited through the gate... only to be roughly grabbed on the arm by Misty and yanked forward.

"Ow! Hey!" he complained.

"I hope you're happy with yourself!" she said. "May was in such a state after your little fight that she stormed off in the other direction!"

"Well, what do you want _me_ to do about it?"

"Find her and apologise," Ash replied.

"_What_?"

Misty practically threw him in the direction May went. "Go find her!" she ordered. "Ash's Mom's getting worried about you both!"

"And what're you two gonna do?"

"Stay right here and wait," Ash replied.

Max sighed. "Alright, fine."

With one last glance at their annoyed expressions, he turned and ran after May.

* * *

Finally, Max found his sister, who was climbing down from that ride he could never remember the name of... with the seats all in a line, facing forward, that spun in a circle, plummeting quite suddenly and throwing the riders to the side before lifting them into the air again.

He was just about to go over and speak to her, but stopped; someone else had approached her... someone he didn't recognise. He looked about sixteen, had long wavy purple hair and was wearing... an outfit that looked like a cactus?

"Wasn't that ride fun?" the guy said.

"Yeah, it sure was," May replied, smiling.

He held out his hand. "I'm Harley."

May took his hand and shook it. "I'm May."

"That's a nice outfit you're wearing, May. It really suits you."

"Gee, thanks. Yours is pretty cool too."

Max noticed Harley's eye twitch as May glanced at someone walking past her and narrowed his eyes in suspicion. Suddenly, May looked back at Harley and the guy plastered a fake smile on his face.

"Why, thank you."

"You're welcome... but what's it meant to be, exactly?"

Harley visibly shook in rage at this comment. "What do you mean 'what's it meant to be?'?" May started, shocked, and Harley calmed. "It's a Cacturne costume, obviously."

"Oh..." There was a short silence. "And... what's a Cacturne?"

Harley suddenly looked outraged, his face contorting with fury. "_What_? It's _only_ the world's greatest, coolest Pokemon, you jerk!"

May blinked at him. "Oh, uh..."

Harley jabbed her collarbone with his right index finger, his face dangerously close to hers. "This isn't over. You're gonna regret not knowing what a Cacturne is." He then pivoted on his heel and stormed off.

Staring blankly in the direction Harley left, a completely baffled May didn't notice Max approach her from the side.

"May?" he asked.

She looked at him. "Oh... hi, Max."

Max pushed his glasses up his nose. "Just so you know..." May watched him cautiously as he kept his face neutral. "That guy was a freak."

There was a moment of silence between the siblings as sister stared at brother... before both burst out laughing, clutching their stomachs and doubling over.

"You're right..." May said once they'd calmed down, "Harley _is_ a freak."

Max chuckled, then silenced. "Um... May?"

"Mmm?"

"I'm... sorry for shouting earlier... You were right... Mom _did_ say I was your responsibility."

May ruffled his black hair with her right hand. "I'm sorry too. I should've asked you what you wanted to do."

"I deserve to apologise more, 'cause, if I hadn't gotten mad, we wouldn't have split up and you wouldn't have met Harley."

May put her right hand to her mouth, holding her elbow up with her left hand. "Hmm... yeah, you've got a point there."

Max stared her for a few silent moments before she smirked and ruffled his hair again.

* * *

"Finally!" Misty said as the siblings approached her, Ash and Delia. "What took you so long?"

"Uh... ran into a freak in a Cacturne costume," May replied as Max snickered. When Ash and Misty merely stared at them, she added, "I'll explain later. First, let's go on this ride."

"Nah," Max said, "I've already been on it. Let's go win you a toy on hook-a-duck."

"But... Max! That's what the whole argument was _about_!"

"I know... but I've learned the error of my ways, so I'm coming along to watch you win a prize, okay?"

May frowned. "No! That's not what we're doing and that's final!"

Max also frowned. "Yes, it is! Who made you the boss of _me_?"

"I think you'll find it was Mom!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

"Jeez, Misty..." Ash muttered, "they're worse than _us_..."


	15. Present Echoing Past

Author's note: I own Liam and Gabrielle O'Cadhla... and you shall have some mush in this chapter. Yay, mush! (By the way, if anyone's got any ideas for fillers, let's hear 'em! I may use one and, if I do, you shall get full credit for it.)

Lastly, I picked up the surname 'Kingston' from Megaman-NG/Lgacy2X's fic. (Yes, they're the same person. He changed his penname.)

**Chapter Fifteen: Present Echoing Past**

It was now a few days after Bonfire Night, which had been the night the O'Cadhlas had just stayed at home, watching videos, while most other people had gone to a firework display, meaning it was now Saturday afternoon... and Drew was lying flat on his back in bed.

All he'd been thinking about since the Halloween dance was how he'd spent an entire hour dancing with... that girl. Just what had he felt when they were dancing? Something akin to happiness and contentment... but that couldn't be right... because she was the target of his teasing.

He remembered that, when 'couples hour' had been announced, he hadn't even noticed that she'd been stood opposite him, since he'd been glancing off in another direction out of boredom... until she'd approached him and asked him to dance. It'd felt like he'd been slammed in the chest by a flying tool box and had suddenly began stammering like an idiot.

Then what happened, as they were dancing, is she'd asked for his name... so, strangely surprised that she hadn't known who he was, despite the fact that he'd been wearing a full-body costume, he'd desperately fished around in his mind for a name, immediately coming up with 'Andy', the name he used to like being called back in Red Star Elementary... before the other boys had started calling him 'Andy Pandy' and singing that dreadful theme song around him.

He heaved a great sigh and continued to stare at the ceiling, suddenly remembering something else about the dance; just _why_ had he put his arm round her waist? Well, he recalled wanting to feel more comfortable dancing with her, as he'd been feeling a bit stiff and awkward and had felt embarrassed about that... especially since she'd had no idea who he was at the time. Then what had happened? She'd placed a hand on his shoulder and he'd felt his heart stop for a second.

He shook his head and rolled over, facing the wall. Maybe he'd best forget this; it was nothing... it didn't matter... it was just the spur of the moment... the dancing had made him nervous is all. After all, 'Melissa' didn't like him very much, did she? So he knew she'd have freaked out if he'd have revealed himself right then and there. At least outside his house he was able to get away fairly quickly.

He smirked; the only reason he'd worn the werewolf outfit in the first place was to completely avoid his crazed fangirls. He'd noticed many girls looking for him and had felt very smug about the fact that they couldn't find him.

His smile dropped; again, his thoughts were drifting back to 'Melissa'. Just why _was_ he giving her these roses? The first time, it'd been as an apology... with Ginger as the cover-up... but, this time, he'd felt a strange need to give her another one when she'd shown up on his doorstep, trick-or-treating... then used feeling proud of her being brave enough to go out in public dressed as a vampire as _another_ cover-up... He sighed and rubbed his eyes; maybe he was more like his father than he'd thought.

* * *

Gabrielle O'Cadhla, hanging her family's laundry on the washing line, paused as her violet eyes noticed her husband waving at her from the kitchen window. She waved back and he flipped his hair before wandering off again. She rolled her eyes, smiling, before continuing with her chore.

She absolutely loved her husband. True, Liam could sometimes be a little arrogant and conceited... but he was great. She remembered quite easily how he'd reacted when they'd had their son, Andrew; he'd been ecstatic... especially since, when the boy had gotten older, he'd ended up looking almost exactly like him. They had the same shaped face, the same thick hair, the same inverted eyebrows and the same lime green eyes; the only difference was that Liam had dark brown hair with tints of gold... and Andrew had inherited _her_ hair colour, lime green.

Suddenly, a memory from last month struck her: the way Andrew... or _Drew_, as he liked to be called... had spoken to that brown-haired girl with blue eyes outside their school. Why did he have to copy _everything_ his father did? Liam had spoken the same way to _her_ back at Red Star High School. She'd later found out from _him_, of course, that _he_ hadn't copied _anyone_; it was his own identity, born out of being a spoilt brat. In his life, he'd said, he'd gotten everything a child could wish for... clothes, money, the latest technology... but never the love and compassion other children would get... which had turned him into a snob.

Smiling to herself, she recalled the last thing he'd said to her before they'd become a couple forever: _"You were the one that changed me, Gabby. Without you, I'd still be the monster I once was... and... I really like you for it."_ It'd gone something like that, anyway... and then he'd kissed her, slowly and gently.

From then on, her life had never been the same again; she'd fallen in love and always _would_ be in love... but the path that led up to that point, including their first meeting, she remembered, was murder... absolute murder.

* * *

_It was Gabby Kingston's first day at Red Star High School and she was very excited, yet slightly nervous, as she made her way down the corridor to her first class. The thirteen-year-old was just rounding the corner when her left shoulder bumped into the left shoulder of a boy walking the other way. _

"_Hey... careful where you walk," he said coolly, glancing at her._

"_Sorry," Gabby replied, about to walk away._

"_Oh... fine... just bump into me and walk off without an introduction."_

_Gabby sighed and turned to face him. "Sorry... again. I'm Gabby. I'm a freshman here. Just started today."_

_He flipped his hair. "Really? Me too."_

_Gabby watched him, waiting... and waiting. "Um..."_

_He raised an eyebrow. "What?"_

"_Not gonna tell me __**your**__ name?"_

_He smirked. "Nope."_

_She frowned. "Why not?"_

"'_Cause you never asked for it." Gabby sighed in exasperation, checking her watch; five minutes before class would start. "Oh, I'm sorry..." he said in a sarcastic drawl, "am I keeping you?"_

"_Actually, yes. Quickly tell me what your name is, so I can go."_

_His smirk grew wider. "I didn't hear a please."_

_Gabby groaned, growing very irritated. "Please, kind sir... what is your name?"_

_He nodded. "That's better." He held out his hand. "I'm Liam... Liam O'Cadhla."_

_She grabbed it, shook it, then let go. "Great, __**now**__ can I go?"_

"_Nope."_

"'_Nope'? What do you mean 'nope'?"_

"_You didn't tell me your __**surname**_

"_Oh, for the love of-"_

_Liam flipped his hair. "It's only fair, don't you think? I tell you __**mine**__ and you tell me __**yours**_

_Gabby's fists gently clenched and unclenched at her sides as she breathed heavily through her nostrils. "... Fine..." _I'd really like to rip my hair out now, if nobody minds, _she thought. "It's Kingston... Gabby Kingston..."_

_Liam nodded. "__**Very**__ nice."_

"_Now I really gotta go, okay? Bye." _

_Turning on her heel, she walked away as fast as possible, but Liam walked alongside her._

"_Say, did you know that my last name means 'graceful'? Just shows you how perfect I am, doesn't it?"_

_Gabby rolled her eyes. "Oh, please..."_

_Entering her classroom, she finally managed to get away from him, but, taking one last look behind her, caught him waving mockingly at her._

_Many times after that, Liam pestered her to no end, simply for the reason that he liked to toy with her and make her angry; he called her ugly, fat, loud, annoying and a really bad dresser... all the while wearing a huge smirk on his face and flipping his hair... which got her more and more riled up each time._

_When she eventually screamed the question, "__**Why are you doing this to me**__?" in his face, he shrugged and replied, "It's a break from the norm is all." This, she knew straight away, meant he found her to be different from his fangirls, who were always flocking round him and asking to go out with him, and so used her to get over the stress they brought him, which annoyed her greatly._

_She knew, of course, by this point, that she was one of the very few girls in the entire school who didn't have a major crush on him just for his looks... though she had to admit, since he __**was**__ pretty hot and all, that maybe she __**would've**__ done if she hadn't met him the way she did..._

* * *

Gabrielle frowned as she re-entered the house, hanging the empty peg bag amongst the towels; just _how_ had she fallen for him again? What had been the catalyst that had set off the chain reaction which had eventually led to them being married with a son?

_Now_ she remembered... she'd been in turmoil, depressed beyond reason and crying every hour or so, since she'd just lost her grandmother to cancer. She'd been at her bedside, holding her hand, when the woman had drawn her final breaths, spoken her final words and eventually fallen into a peaceful yet permanent slumber... and Liam had decided to pester her to no end, as usual, pushing... nay, _shoving_... her emotions towards breaking point.

* * *

"_Hey, Gabby Mouth," Liam said smugly as he stood next to her, leaning on the adjacent locker. "How goes life?"_

_Gabby averted her eyes, staring instead at the floor. "Leave me alone..." she muttered._

_There was a slight silence before Liam spoke again. "Well, that's no way to talk to me, now, is it?"_

_Gabby slowly lifted her head and gazed at him; he was smirking, one eyebrow raised. She looked down again, retrieving her books and closing her locker, locking it. _

"_Just... leave me alone..."_

"_Oh, come on..." He clicked his fingers twice in front of her face. "You know you wanna talk to me." She said nothing in response. "Gabby..." he sang, "you're being boring..."_

"_I don't care... just... go away, Liam."_

_She looked at him to find he was frowning. "Just what's wrong with you?"_

"_Nothing."_

"_Don't lie."_

"_And how would you know I'm lying? You some kind of psychic?"_

"_Obviously not... but I'm not stupid."_

_Gabby scoffed, her face deadpan. "Could've fooled __**me**__. You know, when someone tells you to leave them alone, it generally means they want you to, you know, leave them alone."_

_Liam folded his arms over his chest. "No need to talk to me like __**that**_

"_Oh, I think there's __**every**__ need to talk to you like that."_

"_I'm only being friendly."_

"_Pfft! You call this friendly? I'd hate to see what you call __**un**__-friendly."_

"_Now, Gabby-"_

"_No. The only goal you have in life is to tick me off one way or another. Yes, I'm sick of it, but today... right now... I can't take it... and really, __**really**__ wanna be left alone." Her eyes suddenly stung and her vision became cloudy._

_There was another short silence. "Um... Gabby? Are you... crying?"_

_Gabby furiously wiped away at her eyes. "No."_

_Liam narrowed his eyes. "You are such a liar."_

"_Oh and what makes __**you**__ the expert?" A quiet sob escaped Gabby's mouth, which she clamped shut in an instant._

_Liam's arms fell to his sides. "Are... you okay?"_

_Gabby quickly turned away, clutching her books tight against her chest. "Just... leave me alone, Liam!"_

_She jumped at the feel of a hand gently touching her shoulder, then relaxed as a tear dripped down her cheek._

"_Gabby... please... tell me what's wrong."_

_Another sob escaped from Gabby's mouth, but, this time, she didn't bother to try and stifle it. She bowed her head with a mixed feeling of depression at her grandmother's death... and embarrassment at being caught crying._

"_It's... my... grandma..."_

"_Y... Yeah?"_

"_She... she..."_

_The grip on her shoulder tightened. "Gabby..."_

_A few more tears dripped down her face. "She died last night... I... I watched her die... and I mi... miss her so much..."_

"_Oh... I'm so sorry... I... I didn't-" _

_Gabby shook her head, turning to face him, his hand dropping from its place on her shoulder. "It... it's okay... you couldn't have known... I didn't... __**expect**__ you to have known..." Another silence followed. "Um... Liam?"_

"_Yeah?"_

"_Can I... maybe... I mean, I know it's not... right for me to ask, but... can I please... get a hug?"_

_Liam's face suddenly turned bright red. "Um... s-sure. I... don't see why not."_

_Gabby smiled before lunging at him and embracing him in a power hug. "Thanks."_

_Liam's arms gingerly returned the embrace. "Heh... no problem."_

* * *

"Hey, Gabby Mouth," Liam said with a smirk as he wrapped his arms round his wife's waist, kissing her neck.

"Har har, very funny..." Gabrielle replied. "You're hilarious."

"_I_ like to think so."

Gabrielle rolled her eyes, still smiling. "Where's Drew?"

"In his room. He said something about wanting to be alone for a while to think."

Gabrielle suddenly felt saddened. "Do you think it has something to do with that girl from his school?"

"What girl?"

"You know... the one I told you about."

"Oh yeah... the one he likes to mess around with and annoy."

"Mmm hmm."

"Probably. I mean, he does take after his father, after all."

"Yeah... a little _too_ much, if you ask _me_."

Liam began to rock from side to side, his wife being rocked with him. "You say that like it's a _bad_ thing."

"Well, in some cases, I guess it _can_ be."

Liam mock-gasped. "Gabby! Darling! How can you stand there and say such things? I'm hurt!"

Gabrielle rolled her eyes again. Jeez, just how many times, whilst with him, _had_ she rolled her eyes at something he'd said? She'd lost count.

"I'm sure you'll get over it, dear."

"Oh and what makes _you_ the expert?"

Gabrielle smirked, turning round to place her hands on his shoulders. "Years of experience."

Gently, she pressed her lips against his and, smirking slightly, he pressed back before they embraced one another, once again rocking gently from side to side.


	16. All Hale Partying to the Max

Author's note: I used to call the shipping in this chapter 'kiddieshipping', but it was decided that it was called 'smartkidshipping', which sounds so much cooler, so... let's go with that!

Also, I made up Mrs. Hale's first name, yes, the misspelling of 'hail' in the chapter title is intentional and I made up the names of the birthday locations... Jeez, this chapter was difficult to write for...

**Chapter Sixteen: All Hale Partying to the Max**

A few days after the day Drew contemplated in his room and his mother went over her memories of her and her husband, both of which no one outside the boundaries of the O'Cadhla household had any idea about, it was Max's close friend's sixth birthday.

"Aw, come _on_!" Max urged from his place next to his sister on the couch. "I wanna go see Molly!"

"Patience, Max," May scolded, "we're still waiting for Ash's mom to pick us up, remember?"

Max huffed in response, resting his elbows on his knees and placing his head on his hands, sulking.

"Isn't Delia the one that's known Spencer Hale since she was _your_ age?" Caroline asked from the doorway.

May turned towards her mother. "Yeah... they're pretty close."

"What's his wife's name again?"

"Um... Margaret, I think."

"That's the one."

May turned back to her brother and smirked. "Bet you can't wait to see your crush, huh?"

Max suddenly felt horrified, his face flushing. "_What_? _Crush_? She's not my crush!"

May giggled and rolled her eyes. "_Sure_ she's not..."

"She's _not_! She's just a friend, that's all!"

May winked. "That's what they _all_ say."

Max frowned, looking elsewhere, his blush intensifying. "Well, she is. She-"

He was cut short by a horn beeping outside their house, to which May got up and exited the room. Max, relieved beyond belief, got up and followed her, picking up the plastic bag filled with a card and birthday present that had been resting against the side of the couch.

* * *

"Maxie!" Molly screeched before she raced across the room and threw her arms around him.

"Aheh... hey, Molly," Max replied. "Happy birthday."

The blonde-haired girl with blue eyes burst into a fits of giggles and Max's face burned. "Thanks! Ooh, hey! Guess where we're going for the party! Guess! Guess! Guess!"

"Um... dunno."

"That place nearby with all the nets and climbing frames and slides!"

"Kidville? I _love_ that place!"

Molly beamed. "That's great! We're gonna have loads and loads of fun there!"

* * *

It was a little while later and everyone had gathered inside the building the birthday girl was to spend her special day in, said girl opening all of her presents.

"Yay! I _love_ it!" Molly exclaimed once she'd opened her final present, which was from Max: a toy Teddiursa. "Thank you, Maxie!" She threw her arms around him and squeezed him.

"Ack! Okay, Molly... you-you can let go of me now," Max stuttered, now feeling extremely awkward, especially when he noticed, with some irritation, May smirking at Ash and Misty.

"Okay!" She let go of him and he turned away to hide his blush. "Mama! Papa! Look at this cute Teddi... uh, Teddi... _Teddiursa_ Maxie got me! Isn't it the best?" She almost crushed it against her chest to show her affection for it.

Her father, Spencer, nodded, beaming. "It sure is, Molly," he replied.

"You can add it to your Pokemon toy collection," her mother, Margaret, added, chuckling.

"Yeah... and it can sleep with me and be my cuddle toy."

Margaret beamed. "How cute."

"Uh, hey, Molly?" Max asked, slightly embarrassed about the whole 'cuddle toy' thing. "Wanna go play now?"

"Ooh!" Molly replied. "Sure!" She turned to her mother. "Mama? Could you take care of Teddiursa while I play please?"

"Of course, sweetheart," Margaret replied, taking the toy from her daughter's outstretched hands.

Straight after, Molly raced past Max, heading straight for the net climbing frame. "Race ya, Maxie!"

Sighing, Max took off after her as fast as he could. Of course, she beat him there... then insisted on them racing _up_ the climbing frame, along the platforms, up and down the various obstacles, over to the slides, _down_ the slides... then taking the whole circuit again at a much slower pace.

* * *

May watched her brother collapse in the chair opposite her, which was between Ash and Misty, the three adults on a separate table, and panting, "So... tired... Need... drink..." before snatching away her pink slushie.

"Hey!" she protested as he supped as much as he could through the straw.

"Ah..." he said in satisfaction, sliding the slushie back across the table, "that hit the spot... even though the blue slushie's better."

May tutted, rolling her eyes and wiping her straw before resuming her drinking. Then, suddenly noticing Molly in the corner of her eye, she took a glance at her; the girl was sitting herself down on the floor before turning her Teddiursa round so it faced her and sitting it down on her lap.

"How you doin', Teddiursa?" Molly asked.

"Not bad," 'Teddiursa' replied, Molly doing its voice for it. "You seem to make a pretty good friend."

Molly giggled. "Thanks."

"So, what's your name?"

"Molly."

"That's a nice name."

Molly beamed. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." There was a slight pause. "Um... Molly?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you leave me behind?"

"What do you mean?"

"I wanted to go play too."

"Oh, I'm sorry, Teddiursa... I promise that, when me and Maxie go back over there, I'll take you with me, kay?"

"Thanks, Molly."

Molly smiled. "You're welcome."

May, from her nearby table seat, smiled at the adorable sight.

* * *

Finally, the Styles family were back at home, relaxing on the couch in May and Max's case, and relaxing on armchairs in Norman and Caroline's case.

"Wow... what an awesome day," Max said, a goofy smile on his face. May laughed, ruffling his hair. "Hey!"

"Don't worry, the fun's not _totally_ over; you'll be seeing Mollykins _again_ in a few days' time. After all, there's no way she'll miss out on _your_ birthday."

Max rolled his eyes, groaned and turned away.

* * *

A few days after Molly Hale's sixth birthday, it now being late one Saturday morning, it was Max Styles' ninth birthday and he couldn't wait for his friend's arrival. Impatient, he turned on the television, threw himself into an armchair, Norman protesting that he'd break the chair if he kept that up and him apologising, and began flipping through the channels. When he discovered that Naruto was playing, he cranked up the volume and put down the remote.

May, not so big a fan of the show, made her way to the computer to go on MSN while Norman made his way into the kitchen for a snack and Caroline made her way to the bathroom.

"May!" Max called. "Fetch me my Leaf Village headband, would ya?"

May stopped and turned to face him. "Why don't you get it yourself?" she asked.

"'Cause I'm watching T.V."

May's mouth twisted unpleasantly. "Well, _I'm_ going on MSN."

"Well, could you get me my headband first?" Sighing heavily, May trudged over to the shelf, pulled down the headband and threw it at her brother. "Hey! Don't throw things at me! That's evil!"

May smirked. "Cha... believe it."

* * *

Eventually, Spencer and Margaret Hale brought their daughter round, who was carrying her toy Teddiursa lovingly. Seeing Max, she instantly greeted him the same way she'd done on her own birthday, glomping him, and, as an extra, wishing him a happy birthday over and over and over again.

"So... where are we going for the party?" she asked once she was done.

"Tony Armadillo's," Max replied.

"Ooh, that place with the pizzas and the arcade and the singing robots?"

"Mmm hmm."

"Cool! I can't wait!"

* * *

A while later, Norman, Caroline, Spencer, Margaret, Delia, Ash, Misty, May, Molly and the birthday boy himself had arrived at their destination, Molly gazing around her in awe.

"This place... is amazing..." she said just above a whisper.

Max smirked. "Well, of _course_ it is," he replied. "You didn't think I'd have my birthday party at _any_ old place, did ya?" Molly giggled heartily in response.

"Give Max your present, honey," Spencer said, handing his daughter a plastic bag.

"Sure thing, Papa," she replied, handing it to Max.

He opened the card first, which sang 'Happy birthday' to him in a cheerful enough tune to dance to, then moved on to the present.

"Aw, cool!" he said, once he'd opened it. "A Slaking watch!"

Molly smiled. "Yeah. I know how much you like Normal-type Pokemon, so I got my Papa to get you _that_."

"Thanks, Molly." He placed the watch on his wrist. "Hey, it looks pretty good on me."

Molly giggled. "You got that right."

"Wanna go play in the ball pool?" He pointed over to it.

"Yeah! Let's go!"

"Don't forget to meet us at our table for the show _later_, kids," Norman said, before smiling. "You have your watch now, Max, so you can tell when it gets to three o'clock."

"Okay," Max replied.

* * *

"How cute is _that_?" Misty asked, gazing sweetly at the two children playing in the ball pool, one of them being the birthday boy.

"Cute enough to tease him about later," May replied with an evil smirk.

Ash laughed. "Aw, come on, May..." he said, "can't you leave Max alone about that?"

May shook her head. "No chance. He's always calling Drew my boyfriend... which _really_ ticks me off, 'cause I'll _never_ have _any_ feelings for him _whatsoever_... so it's nice to get a little payback."

Ash and Misty exchanged glances. "Eh... fair enough," Misty said before all three started laughing.

* * *

"Die, zombies! Die!" Max said rather dramatically as he punched the buttons and yanked the levers of a certain arcade game that his mother had given him money for.

"You can do it, Maxie!" Molly said from beside him. "Kill 'em! Kill 'em!"

On screen, the knight that Max was controlling swung his sword and blew up another zombie. There was no bloodshed, however, since this was, after all, meant to be a children's game.

Suddenly, the knight got attacked by three zombies at once and a voice saying "You've been... _exterminated_!" rang out from the speakers before the screen flashed the words 'Game over'.

"Darn it!" Max turned to Molly and sighed in defeat. "Oh well... what do you wanna do now?"

Molly thought for a moment, then grinned. "Dance machine! Dance machine!"

Max blinked at her. "Oh, come on... you don't seriously expect me to- Whoa!"

He hadn't had time to finish his sentence, as Molly had grabbed him by the arm and dragged him over to it, slotting the coin in as she got there.

Max couldn't believe it... he was actually going to have to dance... with his sister and friends not too far away, as well... How embarrassing... but, then again, he did have Molly with him... so it wasn't _all_ bad...

* * *

May was killing herself laughing when Max and Molly sat down at the table she, Ash and Misty were sitting at, so Max, naturally, was throwing her death glares.

"Nice one, Max!" she said. "That last jump you did, where your foot slipped and you almost did the splits? Classic!" Max said nothing in response, choosing instead to scowl at her.

It was then that the lights dimmed and a voice called out, "Ladies and gentlemen of Tony Armadillo's... I'd like to introduce you all... to our show! Take it away, guys!"

The curtain rose, revealing several robotic animals on stage, including a monkey playing the drums, a fox playing the electric guitar, a platypus playing the keyboard and, of course, Tony Armadillo... the armadillo... himself on the microphone.

"One large pepperoni for three and one medium ham and mushroom for two?" a waitress on roller skates, carrying two pizzas, asked.

"Yeah, thanks," May replied, so the waitress put down the pizzas.

"Enjoy your meal."

After a smile and a nod, the waitress roller-skated away again, just as another roller-skated over to the adults, holding two large pizzas for the five to share between them.

"This party's even better than _mine_ was," Molly said, beaming at Max. "Thanks for such a great time."

"Aheh... don't mention it," Max replied, smiling back in slight embarrassment.

May smirked and was about to say something when she suddenly got a glare from Misty, telling her to back off, so, deciding to leave him alone for now, she leaned on her elbow and instead smirked in the direction of the performing robots on stage.

_Eh... I can always torture him about it later..._ she thought, feeling deliciously evil.


	17. Turkey Delights

Author's note: Okay... I'm sorry this chapter hasn't been out sooner, but I've been all worked up about my exams and found any excuse to loosen up and calm the nerves. (does sweatdrop) Anyway, I really hope this chapter's worth the wait.

Also, the chapter is a pun on 'Turkish Delights'. Yay, puns.

**Chapter Seventeen: Turkey Delights**

Around a week after Max Styles' ninth birthday party, it was Thanksgiving Day, so, therefore, all the children in town had the day off school... and Ash, Misty and May were enjoying the one-day holiday by throwing a pink Frisbee to each other in the park.

This wasn't, however, the first suggestion made; it was Misty's idea to go to the park to smell the fresh air and sit by the water fountain, Ash's idea to do something more fun, so no one would die of boredom, and May's idea to play with the Frisbee she'd gotten for her tenth birthday and had barely used.

"Go long!" May shouted, winding the arm holding the Frisbee around her neck.

Ash and Misty both immediately complied, backing up and readying their hands, so May let the Frisbee fly. It zoomed towards the pair, who closed in on it with their arms spread out, Ash coming in from one side and Misty coming in from the other. They instantly collided with one another before lifting up their arms and attempting the grab it, the Frisbee bouncing off their fingers. Finally, it fell into Ash's grasp.

"Ha!" he said triumphantly, waving the Frisbee around. "I win!"

Misty frowned, growling. "You only won that time 'cause I went easy on you!" she snarled.

Ash stuck out his tongue. "Yeah right. Like I need you to go easy on me to win."

"Uh, guys?" May called over. "The game's still in play!"

"You heard her." Ash made a go-stand-over-there motion with his hand. "Scoot."

"Why, you little-!" Misty snarled again, whacking him on the side of the head with her fist, though not quite as hard as it would have looked to a casual observer.

"Ow!" Ash, one eye closed, rubbed the sore spot on his head.

May rolled her eyes as her red-headed friend waltzed over, her knuckles on her hips and her mouth twisted unpleasantly.

"Go on then! Throw!" May called, readying herself.

"Yeah, whatever," Misty said, also readying herself.

"Okay..." Ash replied, twisting his arm back, "here... it... comes!"

He threw it hard and it sailed about four feet above the heads of his female companions, who, unable to reach it at that height, merely stared at it as it flew overhead. Misty then glared at Ash.

"Just what was _that_?" she screeched and he visibly flinched before throwing his hand behind his head.

"Aheh... my bad..."

"You're darn _right_ it's your bad!" Misty stormed over to him, fists clenched. "Who knew you were so useless at throwing Frisbees?"

Suddenly angry, Ash put down his hand. "_Useless_? I'm not useless!"

"Could have fooled me!"

"I mess up _one time_ and you get on my back about it!"

_Ugh... not again... _May thought. _I'm __so__ not in the mood for this today... _"Um... guys?" she said, slowly walking over.

"_What_?" they both screamed at her.

She flinched. _Run... now... while you can. _"Um... I gotta go..." _Come on, think of something!_ "Help out with the Thanksgiving dinner."

"Fine," both muttered before facing each other and gritting their teeth.

May hurried off quickly, grabbing her Frisbee as she did so.

* * *

As May made her way to her house, clutching her pink Frisbee, she couldn't stop thinking about her always-argumentative best friends. Why couldn't they just get along like any _normal_ best friends? Why did they constantly need to pick fights with one another over petty things? Sure, they loved each other and needed every excuse to keep that fact hidden, but-

"Why, hello there," a voice she recognised very well said from nearby. Turning, she came face-to-face with _him_ again.

"Hi, Drew," she replied. It was weird, but she was getting kind of used to his presence, since he was so often around her.

He flipped his hair. "So, what's going on with you today?"

"Eh... nothing much."

"You having a Thanksgiving dinner later?"

"Of course."

He glanced at the object she was holding and scoffed. "Have you been playing Frisbee? You big kid."

May's face suddenly burned. "Hey! Frisbee happens to be a very fun game!"

Drew stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Yeah... for little kids."

"Nuh uh! And it's much more fun when you play it with friends! But you wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

In a flash, an expression somewhere between shock and fury, involving wide eyes and gritted teeth, appeared on Drew's face and May instantly regretted saying it. However, it quickly vanished and a smirk replaced it.

"Well, it's better to have _no_ friends than have Ash and Misty for friends, right?"

Fury erupted within May out of nowhere. "_W-What_?"

He flipped his hair again. "I mean come on... one's got a voice a frog would be jealous of, not to mention hair that could use a good brush now and then, while the other has a ponytail at the side of her head and seems to think she can pull off yellow hot pants."

May's teeth ground together ferociously while her eyes practically blazed. "How _dare_ you insult my best friends! They, unlike you, are amazing people and are actually worth something!"

Drew scoffed. "Yeah... a couple of cents maybe."

All of a sudden, all of Misty's 'teachings' in viciousness exploded from deep within her; she clenched a fist and swung it straight for the green-haired boy's head. For a second, he appeared to be paralysed in shock and fear before he dodged cleanly out of the way.

"Jerk!"

Swinging her fist again, she, once more, narrowly avoided breaking his jaw, due to his incredible skill at dodgeball... or, in this case, dodgefist.

"What's _wrong_ with you, you maniac?"

"Insult my friends and get a fist in your face... that's how it works, Drew."

Stunned, he blinked stupidly at her, unable to speak, before smirking and flipping his hair. "I'd like to see you _try_ and hit me."

"_What_? You think I _can't_?"

"We'll just have to see, won't we?" He turned around and walked slowly away, pulling his other hand out of the pocket it was resting in. May raised an eyebrow at him before he stopped and half turned around. "Oh and... be sure to tell _Fag Ash_ and _Misty Forecast_ what _worthless_... _pathetic_... _ugly_... _smelly_ pieces of _trash_ they really are."

May, utterly blinded by fury, screamed in aggression before charging after him, him smirking while, at the same time, running for his life.

* * *

"Why are you being so annoying?" Ash asked. "All I did was throw a stupid Frisbee too high!"

"Yeah, too high for either of us to catch, you moron!" Misty replied.

"How is that _my_ fault? I can't control where I throw the stupid thing!"

"Well, there's obviously something wrong with you then! What idiot can't control where they throw a Frisbee?"

"_This_ idiot, apparently!" Suddenly, Ash stopped, thinking about what he'd just said.

Misty smirked in triumph. "Ha! You brainless twit! You just _admitted_ you're an idiot!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I said 'apparently', which means it's not what I think!"

"Well, it's what _I_ think! You're an idiot and always _have_ been an idiot!"

"Oh yeah? What gives _you_ the right to call me names?"

"I'm your best friend! I'm _meant_ to be critical to help you improve!"

"I don't see how damaging my pride can help me improve!"

"Well then, that just _proves_ how stupid you are, doesn't it?"

It was at this point that the two suddenly realised how extremely close their faces had become... they were only mere inches apart... their foreheads very nearly touching one another... Fortunately, both faces were already bright red from all the arguing, so it didn't really show when more blood, from heavy embarrassment, rushed to their cheeks.

For a few moments, the two just stayed in place, staring at each other, brown eyes meeting greenish-blue eyes... and neither spoke a word... until they both huffed at the same time and broke apart, folding their arms and staring, frowns on their faces, in opposite directions.

A short while later, having still not spoken to each other, they heard an aggravated scream and, surprised, they dropped their angry demeanour to watch a very ticked-off May chasing a very smug Drew down the street. The two friends exchanged glances and looked back at the area where Drew and May were just a second ago.

"Um..." Ash offered.

"Yeah..."

There was a short silence. "You wanna go check it out?"

"Sure."

* * *

Drew, sitting on a brick wall, panting, smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Had enough?" he asked.

May, leaning against a tree, also panting, scowled at him. "Yeah..." she replied.

"You know... you're not a bad runner."

"Same goes for you."

"... Hey... I didn't really mean what I said, you know... I was only teasing."

May rolled her eyes. "Yeah... I know... You only wanted to rile me up enough to chase you."

Drew chuckled. "Yep. Oh and stop leaning on that tree... I think you deserve a sit down as much as I do."

She threw him a suspicious look. "What makes you think I'd wanna sit down next to you?"

Drew shrugged. "I dunno... I thought maybe you'd want your present... but I guess not."

May raised both her eyebrows. "Present?"

"Yeah... come sit down and you'll get it."

May hesitated, but eventually complied, planting herself next to him on the wall, though not too close, and placing her Frisbee next to her. "Okay... what's the present?"

Drew scoffed, pulling aside part of his purple jacket and reaching into an inside pocket. "As if you have to ask."

Producing another red rose, he held it out for her. She stared at it for a few moments before he chuckled and dropped it gently into her lap, where the blood red colour stood out nicely against her white mini-skirt.

Picking it up, May's face gave a light blush, though it was virtually unnoticeable after the exercise. "Just... where are you getting all these roses from, anyway?"

"Hmm? Oh, I have a vase full of them at home in my room... they're my favourite flower."

"Really? W-Why?"

"Isn't it obvious? They're pretty."

"So... what? You're the romantic type, are you?"

"Mmm, you might say that... I _have_ always had a thing for Valentine's Day... where these flowers are used the most." May found herself getting more uncomfortable. "They're the flowers of love... which is why I like them so much."

May gulped. "And... why... are you-?"

"Giving them to you? 'Cause I like them... and I needed something to give to Ginger as an apology for saying nasty things about her. A Teen Titans episode I watched inspired me on that one."

"But why-?"

Drew, not bothering to give her time to finish the question, climbed down off the wall and walked off, waving goodbye as he did so.

May looked back at the rose before climbing down herself, grabbing her Frisbee in her free hand, and heading home. _Why does he __keep__ giving me roses then? Why didn't he just leave it at the one rose for Ginger? And why is he constantly carrying them around?_

* * *

"Wow, they look so exhausted," Misty commented, watching Drew and May pant, Drew sitting on a brick wall and May leaning against a tree.

"No kidding," Ash replied.

"I wonder what Drew said or did to make May chase him down the street like that."

"No clue... but it must have been pretty big."

Misty turned to face him, guilt suddenly hitting her. "Hey, Ash?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm... sorry about... earlier."

Ash threw his hand behind his head. "Aheh... yeah, me too."

"It was a stupid thing to call you about, really... I mean, it wasn't _your_ fault it got thrown too high."

"Well, to be fair... it _was_ my fault... 'cause, if it wasn't mine, who's was it?"

Misty chuckled. "Good point." She then lowered her gaze to the ground and spotted something shiny. "Hey, what's that?"

Ash lowered his hand from his head and looked where she was looking. "Aw, cool!" He bent down and picked up one cent. "See a penny, pick it up... all day long, you'll have good luck!"

Misty playfully rolled her eyes before looking back at Drew and May... and seeing May sitting beside Drew on the brick wall, holding a rose, her Frisbee lying next to her. Her jaw dropped and her eyes widened at the sight.

"Ash! Check this out!"

"Oh, my-" He stopped himself. "He's given her another rose?"

"Looks like it... but why, I've got no idea."

Ash was silent for a moment. "You don't think that... maybe he...?"

"I'm not sure _what_ to think just yet..."

As they watched, Drew climbed down from the brick wall and walked away, waving, and, after looking back at the rose in her hand, May climbed down, grabbed her Frisbee and walked the other way, seemingly heading for home.

Misty looked back at Ash, blinking in surprise at the odd event they'd just witnessed, and he blinked back at her before opening his glove-covered palm and glancing down at the penny lying on it.

Misty's shock transformed into confusion at this strange act. "Something wrong?"

Ash looked up at her. "Huh? No, I just..." He looked back down at the penny.

Misty raised an eyebrow. "What?"

"Here." Ash clasped the penny and held out his hand.

"Huh?"

"Take it; it's a present." Misty cocked her head to one side. "Drew gave May a present, so I thought I'd give _you_ one."

Slowly, Misty held out her hand and Ash planted the penny into her open palm. She stared at it. That was it? A penny? She frowned. May got a rose and she got a penny picked up off the floor? Great...

"Uh... thanks..."

Ash beamed. "No problem. Oh! I should be getting back; my mom will be expecting me to help her cook the Thanksgiving dinner!" He took off running towards his house. "See ya, Mist!"

Misty, once again, stared at the penny in her hand. _Well,_ she thought, _it's a lousy present, but it's the thought that counts, I suppose..._ She smiled. _Not to mention I got to feel his hand touching mine as he passed it over... so it's not __all__ bad..._


	18. The Belle of the Ball

Author's note: My apologies for the lack of updates. Here's my explanation: my college teachers have been loading coursework deadlines on me and causing me stress... and I have an ear infection that causes a great amount of tiredness and a lot of pounding headaches... though my new medication is helping with that.

By the way, the little surprise you'll find, concerning May, belongs to me. You'll see what I mean when you come to it.

**Chapter Eighteen: The Belle of the Ball**

As Liam and Drew O'Cadhla sat at their usual chairs around the family table, Gabrielle O'Cadhla entered with the steaming hot, golden brown turkey, which she placed in the centre before being seated herself.

"Alright... who wants to go first with their thanks?" she asked.

"I will," Liam replied. "As always, I'm thankful for my beautiful wife and amazing son... and the great life I've been leading ever since Drew was born."

"Aww, how sweet... though you _do_ say that _every_ year..."

Liam smirked. "What? Do I only have to be grateful for you two once?"

Gabrielle, smiling, rolled her eyes. "Okay, I'll go next. I'm _also_ thankful for my family, as well as my boss's kindness in giving me a raise yesterday." Both Liam and Drew smirked at one another. "Drew?"

"Oh, right," Drew replied. "Well, I'm thankful for..." He stopped as he noticed the blood red curtain hanging from the window behind his mother's head... and the white vase containing yellow pansies resting on the windowsill beside it. Staring at them, he was strangely reminded of...

"Um... Drew?"

"Hmm?"

"What's the matter?"

Drew blinked at her. "Oh, uh... nothing, Mom." Gabrielle shot him a confused look. "Um, I'm thankful for... my family, my home, my life and..." He gave the curtain another glance and muttered, "A certain person who keeps me entertained."

Gabrielle narrowed her eyes at her son and Liam snorted, causing Drew to avert his eyes elsewhere, until an elbow in his side made him turn back round.

"I'm so proud of you, son..." Liam said, beaming, "you're just like _I_ was when _I_ was your age."

"Allow me to correct you on that one, Liam..." Gabrielle interjected, "you were a tad _older_ than Drew when you began torturing me."

Liam laughed. "Oh yeah! That's right!"

Gabrielle shook her head at her husband. "Okay, well... now that _that's_ out of the way... dig in, everyone."

* * *

The O'Cadhla family were halfway through their meal, a gigantic portion on Liam's plate, a moderate portion on Gabrielle's plate and an in-between portion on Drew's plate, when Drew, while munching on a piece of turkey covered in gravy, glanced back at the curtain and flowers.

That girl... that annoyingly nameless girl that he'd come across earlier and given _yet another_ rose to... was drifting across his mind, as she'd done _so_ often lately... and what was even stranger... was that he actually... kind of... _enjoyed_ thinking about her.

He shook his head, blinking a couple of times; what did he just _think_ to himself? Was he going insane? Or did he actually... kind of... _like_ her?

_Get a grip on yourself,_ he thought. _You just find her entertaining... that's all. I mean, sure she's cute and has a pretty voice and laugh, but... Gah! No!_

"Drew? Something wrong?" Liam asked.

"Huh?" Drew replied, looking up at his father.

"You were staring at your food like it was poisonous or something. What's up?"

"N-Nothing, Dad." Drew lowered his head and continued eating.

* * *

After the food had all been polished off, Drew turned on the living room television and seated himself on an armchair, flicking through the various cartoons. Once he landed on Teen Titans, he decided to put down the remote. It was, of course, a re-run of one of the Brotherhood of Evil episodes, so he had some time to think things through.

He knew he'd been cruel to Ash and Misty earlier, but he also knew that he hadn't really meant any of it. First of all, Little Miss No Name had called him friendless, which, at the time, had really ticked him off. He already knew he had no friends... he hadn't since his family moved to this town, because of the new job his father had gotten, and he'd had to attend Blue Moon Junior High, instead of Red Star Junior High with everyone else... but did she really have to rub it in? That's what pushed him to mock her best friends.

Second of all, her anger about that little issue had amused him... even though her trying to punch his jaw out of place shocked the life out of him... so he decided to drive the needle in even further and get her to chase him, just to give himself an extra adrenaline rush. Needless to say, it worked a treat.

Something about her, though, kept making him want to come back for more. She gave him a strange excitement that he never got anywhere else and he couldn't quite understand it. _Did_ he like her that way? Was it possible? He _was_ always giving her roses, including the one that was meant as a Thanksgiving Day present, but they were just friendly gestures... weren't they?

_I don't even know her name,_ he thought, _so how could I possibly have __**feelings**__ for her? It __**can't**__ be true._ Suddenly, he spotted his mother wandering in from the kitchen after washing the dishes. "Uh, Mom?" he asked.

"Mmm?" she replied.

Drew blushed slightly and stared at the television screen, though not really watching Beast Boy have a meeting with Pantha, Jericho, Herald and Mas. "Um..."

"Yes, Drew?"

"How... how do you know when... you like someone?"

There was a slight pause. "What... you mean as in... like-liking them?"

"... Mmm hmm."

Gabrielle chuckled. "You just _know_, sweetheart. I can't explain how, but you just _do_. Usually, it's a feeling of excitement when you see them... or an inability to get them off your mind." Here, she paused. "Or, in _your_ case, it might be a need to constantly tease them." Drew blushed harder, still refusing to take his eyes away from the screen, and Gabrielle chuckled again. "Hope that helped."

As she took off upstairs, Drew relaxed his staring, the unnamed girl's face drifting across his mind and her cute laugh clouding up his thoughts. Maybe he _did_ like her that way; it'd certainly explain a few things... like his constant need to give her roses. Sure, he _liked_ the flowers, but he'd never had an urge to just randomly hand them out to girls before.

He sighed through his nostrils. _Maybe I do... I mean, she __**is**__ pretty cute... and sweet... and funny when she's angry..._ He groaned. _I've never felt this... __**weird**__ about a girl before... and it's driving me mad... but maybe it __**won't**__ be so bad having a crush on her... at least, I hope not._ He gripped the bridge of his nose and sighed._ Why does this one girl have to be so... troublesome?_

Around a week after Thanksgiving Day, it was the final day of November and, with it being a Saturday, Drew was relaxing on a park bench, watching the world go by. He noticed a little girl tossing a coin into the fountain, a man throwing a stick for his dog to fetch and... the girl he liked and her friends?

"Look, I told you I'm sorry!" a little boy of around eight with blackish blue hair and glasses yelled at the girl.

"Well, that's not good enough!" she yelled back. "Sorry's not gonna make the pain go away anytime soon, now, is it?"

"Guys!" Ash called out, waving his hands around. "Just calm down and we can-"

"_You_ calm down!"

"Stop screaming," Misty said, frowning at her friend's behaviour.

"No! You be screaming too if-"

"I said I was sorry!" the little boy interjected.

"Do you know how much pain that caused me?"

"It was just a bowling ball!"

"Oh! 'Just a bowling ball'? _'Just a bowling ball'_? I'll have you know it was the heaviest bowling ball available!"

The boy flinched. "I just wanted to see what it was like to use it."

"Before finding out it was too heavy for you to carry and dropping it on my foot!"

"I didn't think it'd be _that_ heavy!"

"Oh, _that's_ your excuse? You're pathetic!"

"Well, I say _you're_ the pathetic one for not letting it drop!"

"No, 'cause you've got that category covered, apparently!"

"I said I was sorry!"

"And _I_ said that wasn't good enough!"

"Guys!" Ash called out, pushing them apart. "Take it easy."

"Yeah," Misty added, "you're brother and sister... you shouldn't be fighting over something like this."

_They're brother and sister?_ Drew thought, blinking stupidly. _Well, well... you learn something new every day._

"But _you_ fight with your sisters all the time, Misty," Ash pointed out.

Misty glared at him. "Not the point, Ash..." she replied, "not the point."

"Well," the young boy huffed, "if my sister can't accept my apology and live with the stinging in her big toe..." He smirked. "I might just have to tell everyone in the park what her real name is."

The girl shrieked, looking horrified, and Drew's attention was suddenly raised a few notches. He slid across the bench to get closer, positioning himself behind a conveniently-located bush to hear the conversation better.

"You wouldn't dare, you little-!" she screeched.

"Oh, wouldn't I?" The boy smirked and raised an eyebrow.

"No, you wouldn't! Because I'm your sister and-!"

"And I know how much it'd embarrass you."

The girl was clearly panicking and Drew found himself wanting the boy to scream out the girl's name, just so he could finally know what it was... then something hit him; she was embarrassed about her name? Was that the _real_ reason why she never told it to him?

"Maybe we should just call it quits today, huh?" Ash asked, smiling nervously at Misty and obviously looking for some support on the matter.

Misty sighed. "Yeah... come on, guys..." she said, "pack it in for today."

The two siblings looked at each other, the girl forcing a smile and holding out her hand. After a moment of staring at it, the boy smiled, took it and shook it before letting go.

Ash smiled. "Great! Now, come on! What do you guys wanna do now?"

Misty tightened her ponytail. "Not bowling again, that's for sure."

"Hmm..." the girl said, placing a gloved finger to her lip.

"We could go to _our_ house and play video games," the boy suggested.

"Mmm... not today..." Misty replied, "maybe some other time."

"Well, what do _you_ suggest?"

"Hmm... we could go shopping." The remaining three each pulled a face. Misty shrugged. "Well, that's _me_ out of ideas."

"We could go play laser quest," Ash suggested.

"Nah... not really in the mood for that today," the girl replied. "Ooh, I know! Why don't we go to Ash's house and play sing-along to his guitar?"

Ash's face lit up. "Awesome! Why didn't _I_ think of that?"

"Yeah, okay," Misty replied.

"Sure," the boy replied.

"Then let's go," the girl said before they all took off in that direction.

_Darn it..._ Drew thought, _I was really hoping I'd get to find out what her name was. It's such a shame that the boy decided not to shout it out __**after**__ all..._

Suddenly, the young boy stopped. "What are you glaring at me for?" he demanded.

"Oh, I'm sorry," the girl replied sarcastically, "but my big toe just started throbbing again; you know... the one you dropped a bowling ball on!"

"I thought we were over this!"

"Yeah, well, maybe we're _not_ now!"

"Is that so?"

"Yeah, that's so! Do you have any idea how much it hurts?"

"No, but I know how much your yelling is hurting my ears!"

"Why, you little-!"

"Do you _want_ me to shout out your name to the entire park?"

"What do _you_ think, you little weasel?"

"I _know_ you _don't_!"

"Well, _duh_! I think that's pretty obvious!"

"Yeah, well... I'll shout it out if you don't shut up!"

The girl smirked menacingly. "Ha! I know you _won't_!"

The boy mimicked her expression. "Wanna bet?"

"Yeah, I do!"

"You sure?"

"Yeah! In fact, I _dare_ you to!"

"Okay, you asked for it..." The boy raised his voice. "Maybelle!"

The girl gasped dramatically, her face burning a bright shade of crimson and her fingers jumping to her mouth in shock. A few people turned to look at the commotion, but most ignored it.

Drew was gaping at her. '_Maybelle'_? he thought._ Her name's '__**Maybelle'**__? Huh... well, out of all the girls' names in the world, I'd have __**never**__ thought it was 'Maybelle'._

Suddenly, the girl got _very_ angry at her younger brother. "Maxwell! You'll pay for that!" She suddenly raced towards him and, screaming, he bolted, her right behind him all the way.

_And her brother's name is __**Maxwell**__? Huh... I'd have never guessed __**that**__ one either... Were their parents hoping for twins or something?_

"Get back here, so I can pound you into oblivion!" Maybelle screeched, chasing after her screaming brother and waving a clenched fist in the air.

Misty sighed and gave Ash an exasperated shrug. "Seriously, _what_ are we going to do with them?" she asked.

Ash laughed. "Who knows?" he replied, placing his knuckles on his hips. "But don't forget, Mist... we're just as bad as they are."

Misty ran her fingers through her ginger locks. "Heh... can't argue with that."

"I'm sorry, sis! Please don't kill me!" Maxwell screeched as he raced around the fountain, the little girl who'd previously made a wish there gazing at the scene with interest.

"Sorry or not, you're dead meat!" Maybelle screeched back, attempting to move round the fountain enough to reach him, but every direction she took, he'd move the other way to avoid her.

"You're name's not so bad! Honest!

"Yeah right! That's why you had to go and tell everyone what it is! You _know_ how much I hate being called 'Maybelle'!"

"I know and I'm sorry!"

"Sorry's not good enough, you rotten little dirtbag!"

_Maxwell's right,_ Drew thought, smirking at the amusing scene before him, _Maybelle's __**not**__ such a bad name... in fact, it's pretty cute... like __**her**_ Getting up and stuffing his hands in his pockets, he began making his way back home._ Heh... but that __**doesn't**__ mean I'm not going to tease her to death about it. After all, her pain is my joy... and having Maybelle for a name seems to cause her a __**lot**__ of pain... well, embarrassment, anyway... but that's good enough._


	19. Belle ieve it

Author's note: Right... explanation time. Okay, well, I haven't updated in so long because, first off, I had my dreaded coursework to sort out (which is out of the way now, thank goodness)... then I felt really tired for ages and just couldn't be bothered with the writing... and _then_ I caught a cold at my friend's stupid 18th party (it was so freakin' freezing outside and a certain _someone_ told me not to bring a coat), so I've been fighting that off. I'm hoping this chapter makes up for lost time.

Also, I've gone back and changed 'Wakana' to 'Brianna' wherever it shows up (since it turns out _that's_ her English name), yes, May's full name in this story, Maybelle Styles, is my 'invention' ('Maybelle' is a real name and 'Styles' is a real surname), and, once again, I show my love for Naruto in this chapter, though more subtly than before. (cough)check-the-title(cough)

On another note:_ please_ stop telling me to 'update soon'. I know you're just trying to show your love for the story, but we authors hate those words. They're annoying and don't motivate us as much as you might think they do.

Finally, I hope you lot appreciate this chapter. (grumbles) I struggled through this just to get it posted tonight... and it's now, like, twenty-five past two in the morning, so I'm not in a great mood. (yearns for sleep) Enjoy.

**Chapter Nineteen: Belle-ieve it**

Two days after the fiasco at the park, where Max had shouted out May's real name and said girl had chased him round the park for a good ten minutes before tiring out, it was Monday morning, not to mention the second day of December, and Ash Ketchum was clambering aboard the school bus.

He took his usual seat somewhere in the middle and, placing his backpack on the seat next to him, waited, staring out the window as he did so. Soon enough, the bus headed off on its way and he watched as the various houses, trees and road signs zoomed past his vision, as though _they_ were moving, rather than him.

As the bus halted, his attention was aroused, as this, he knew from experience, was the stop his best friend would always get on at. Sure enough, as the doors opened, that familiar ginger hair and yellow outfit boarded, paid its fair and scanned the other students in an attempt to find him. He waved and the girl noticed him and wandered over.

"Morning, Ash," Misty Waterflower said cheerfully.

"Morning, Mist," he replied, lifting his backpack and placing it on his lap to give her room to sit down.

She immediately complied, taking her bag off her shoulder and placing it in her own lap before they exchanged a smile and the bus took off again.

The conversation was light as the bus continued on its journey towards Blue Moon Junior High; such things as "How are you?", "What have you been up to?" and "What lesson have you got first?" were asked, alongside things like "It's not fair that May gets a lift to and from school every day, is it?", coupled with a hearty chuckle. Once there was nothing left to talk about, however, a silence filled the space between them. Sure, there was a great deal of noise everywhere else on the bus, but there, in those two seats, there was silence... so Ash went back to staring out the window at the world passing by.

This often happened between him and Misty: a silence once all topics had been covered. He really wanted to continue the conversation, but, like always, no matter how hard he racked his brain, he came up with nothing.

"Hey, I know it sounds crazy," a female voice from behind him said, "but I really think Joe likes me."

"No... really, Giselle?" a male's voice asked.

"Yeah... I mean, he's always looking at me in class... and, when I look back at him, he blushes and looks away."

_Ah, Giselle,_ Ash thought, mentally sighing. _I used to like her __so__ much when I was younger... not that anyone can blame me, really... I mean, she's really pretty... but..._ He glanced at Misty. _She can't compare to her._ He returned his gaze to the outside world. _I mean, yeah, she's much prettier than her... but it's much more style than substance. Misty's the opposite: more substance and less style._

This sudden thought made him think back to when he first met Misty, way back in kindergarten... and it honestly took a lot of brain strain for him to remember that far back... but he tried.

* * *

_Five-year-old Ash Ketchum had just started kindergarten and was so pumped-up and excited, nothing could stand in his way. The world was now his oyster and he was ready to take it in the palm of his hand and rule it with an iron fist._

"_Yeah, I'm totally gonna be master of this whole school!" he said to a boy with spiky brown hair and a yin and yang necklace, who folded his arms at him._

"_You think so, huh?" the boy replied in a slightly snooty voice. "You just started school, just like me, and you already think you can rule it?"_

_Ash puffed out his chest. "You got it! I'm __so__ gonna be the best! At everything!" _

_The boy raised his eyebrow. "And you are...?"_

"_Ash!"_

"_I'm Gary. Nice to meet you."_

"_No! You don't understand! I'm __so__ totally gonna be-!"_

"_Will you just shut up already!" a girl shouted. Ash turned round to see a red-headed girl storming up to him, a harsh glare on her face._

"_And who are you supposed to be?"_

"_Misty! And I don't like how you're being a snot-head, so shut up!"_

"_A snot-head? You big meanie!"_

"_Jerk!"_

"_Dumbie!"_

"_Idiot!"_

* * *

Not the most graceful way to start off a friendship, Ash had to admit, but, after insulting each other some more, bursting into tears and running off, then being dragged together by a teacher and forced to apologise... Gary Oak being the tattletale and saying that 'they were being mean to each other and now they're both upset'... things worked out fine between them.

_Hmm..._ Ash thought, _I wonder what would've happened if we'd only just become friends in junior high... I mean, it took me __years__ to finally figure out I really liked her... then a bit longer to realise I loved her._ He glanced at Misty again; she was watching the world go by through the windscreen. He looked back out the window. _Honestly, I was pretty dense in my childhood... though Misty would argue that I'm still dense nowadays... but at least I'm smart enough to know my feelings towards her._ He smiled slightly. _I think that if I'd only just gotten to know her in junior high, there'd be no way I'd feel the way I do about her now... so I'm really glad things turned out the way they did. _

* * *

May Styles hadn't seen Drew O'Cadhla when she'd retrieved her books that morning, so she figured she must've just missed him. Not that she was complaining, mind; it was rather nice not seeing his smug face for once. She did, however, have the misfortune of seeing him when she was retrieving her books for third period.

"Hey, Drew," she said, locking her locker and preparing for some form of teasing.

"Hey," he replied, retrieving his own books. "It's un-_belle_-ievably nice to see you today."

May stopped what she was doing and turned to face him, watching him shut and lock his locker before leaning on it and smirking at her.

_Did he just say 'un-belle-ievably'?_ May thought, extremely puzzled. _Why would he say that?_

Drew looked towards the front doors, which had windows above the door handles. "It's my _belle_-ief that it's going to rain today." He looked back at her, the smirk never leaving his face. "What do _you_ think?"

"Uh..." _He just said it again. Why?_

Drew removed a hand from his books to flip his hair before placing it back again. "I don't _belle_-ieve I've got all day to wait for an answer, y'know."

"Uh, yeah... I guess so." _Has he gone insane? _Drew looked her up and down and scoffed. "What?"

"My, you wouldn't _belle_-ieve what bad fashion sense I'm looking at right now." May frowned at the insult. "And, good Lord, the cold wind hitting me through the air vent in my mom's car this morning was un-_belle_-ievable. You better _belle_-ieve I turned the stupid thing off before I caught a cold."

Now May's confusion was over-riding her anger. _Does he need to be carted off to a loony bin?_ "You... okay, Drew?"

"Hmm? Oh, sure, I'm fine. What makes you _belle_-ieve otherwise?"

"Try the fact that you keep saying 'belle'."

"Oh?"

"Why do you keep saying 'belle'?"

"Because, _belle_-ieve it or not, I feel like it."

May raised an eyebrow at him. "You feel like it?"

"Mmm hmm."

"... You're weird."

Drew chuckled. "You're weirder... _belle_-ieve it."

May groaned and rolled her eyes. _Now he's using that stupid Naruto quote..._

Drew glanced at the clock on the wall. "Shouldn't you be with Ash and Misty now? They'd be un-_belle_-ievably sad if you left them all alone." May pulled a face at him. He smirked. "Or would they un-_belle_-ievably happy?" He shrugged. "Who knows?

"Hold on... what do you mean 'unbelievably happy'? Why would they be 'unbelievably happy' _without_ me?"

"Oh, I dunno... _May_-be they _belle_-ieve you'd get in the way of them being together, or something."

May froze, her insides instantly turning to ice. _W-What... did he just say?_ _Did he just... put 'May' and 'belle' in the same sentence? Or did I imagine that? Does he know? Oh Lord, what if he __**does**__ know? But how could he? I never told him my __**nickname**__, never mind my __**real**__ name. He __**can't**__ know... unless... unless he was at the park when Max... No, he couldn't have been. I didn't see him there... but..._

"Why, whatever's the matter?"

"I, uh... nothing. Nothing's the matter. _Should_ something be the matter?" Drew chuckled. "What's so funny? You think something's funny?"

Drew pretended to think. "Mmm... yeah, I _May_ well _belle_-ieve so."

_Oh, crud... he said it again... Either there's a __**huge**__ coincidence going on here... or... he really does... know my..._

Drew smirked at her... and it wasn't one of his 'I'm so cocky. Look at me make fun of the girl in red' smirks... this one was a _knowing_ smirk... a smirk larger than all the other smirks he'd ever given her... and she was panicking like heck inside.

"What's wrong? You look pale. _May_-be you need some water... or air." He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out Beldum and Bellossom key chains, dangling them on two of his fingers. "Or _May_-be the presence of a _belle_-dum and _belle_-ossom would cheer you up."

"Uh, uh... sorry, I gotta go meet Ash and Misty! I'm already late as it is and I don't want to make them belle-ieve- _bel_ieve I ditched them! Okay, bye!"

Quick as a flash, she darted down the corridor, books in hand, to get as far away from Drew as was physically possible.

* * *

As soon as Maybelle disappeared round the corner at light speed, Drew just couldn't control himself any longer... he burst out laughing. Oh, what a fuss she'd made... all because of a few carefully-selected sentences and a couple of carefully-selected Pokemon key chains he'd bought at Pokemon4Ever just yesterday evening.

_Man, that girl's just too much,_ he thought as he pictured her fleeing from him over and over again. _I can't __**imagine**__ how she's feeling right now. Probably petrified at the thought of me possibly knowing her big secret... Heh... well, she should prepare herself to feel petrified __**pretty**__ often from here on..._

"Um... Mr. Drew?" a girl from nearby asked.

"Huh?" he asked, turning round and coming face-to-face with one of his many fangirls. He sighed. "Yeah?"

"Uh, what were you laughing at?"

"Oh, it's a long story. I-" He paused. "Wait... what? _Mr._ Drew?"

The girl blushed. "Uh..."

"Since when have you ever called me _Mr._ Drew?"

The girl looked down at the books she was holding. "Well, uh... just... recently... You see, I... I really respect you and... and you _deserve_ to have people call you Mr. Drew... 'cause you're great... greater than anybody, really..."

Drew blinked at her. "Oh... uh, okay... and... what's your name again?"

"Brianna... Brianna Montgomery."

"Mmm hmm... I see..." She nodded at him, smiling slightly. He averted his eyes. "Well, this has been great, Brianna, but I... have a thing... to do... at a place... so... see ya."

Not looking back, he took off down the corridor, not really caring where he ended up... just as long as he was away from Brianna and her sudden and very unexpected need to call him 'Mr. Drew'.

* * *

"He did what, now?" Misty asked, wide-eyed.

"Just like I said... he used the word 'belle' in almost every sentence he said... and even threw 'May' in with it a few times.

"No way..." Ash said, also wide-eyed.

"You don't think he knows, do you?"

"From the looks of it," Misty replied, "he may well do."

May sighed and put her head in her hands. "Great..."

"But, then again, he may not!" Ash said in a clear attempt to cheer her up... but it didn't seem to work.

"I've worked _so_ hard these four months to keep my name a secret from him... and, now, it looks as though he's found it out anyway..."

"Though not the name you _like_ to be called," Misty added.

"It _could_ all just be a total _coincidence_," Ash suggested. "He _might_ have only just felt like stressing the words 'May' and 'belle' today." Both girls shot him glares so icy, they could have frozen fire. He felt his blood run cold. "Aheh... or maybe not..."

May sighed again and leaned her head on her hands, her elbows resting on her calves. "What am I gonna do?" she asked.

"Hmm... I'm drawing a blank on that one," Misty replied.

"If he _was_ at the park when... _that_ happened... then he's totally gonna tease me 'til the day I die about it."

"Oh, I'm sure he'll have given up _way_ before then," Ash offered with a smile.

"Hmph... okay, I'll rephrase that; he's going to tease me to death about it... so I'll die before I've even left junior high... That better?"

"... No, not really."

* * *

"Max!" Max's big sister screeched at him as soon as he entered the living room after a hard day at school.

"Uh... yeah, sis?" he asked.

May stood up from her place on the couch and stormed up to him. "I hope you're happy, nitwit! It looks like you just ruined my entire life with that little stunt you pulled at the park!"

Max blinked at her. _What's she on about now?_ he wondered.

May paced up and down the room, seemingly trying to gather herself and, from the looks of how her fingers were flexing at her sides, keep herself from strangling him.

"Totally... ruined... my life..." she muttered.

Max furrowed his brows slightly. _What have I done now? I mean, I know I shouted out May's real name... that she really hates... in a rage, but it's not like anybody we __**know**__ heard it... right?_

May took a deep breath and turned to him. "Okay... now, I don't know for sure... but I'm pretty certain that you've ruined me."

"Wha-?"

May held up a hand. "Just... don't ask, okay?" She lowered her hand. "I'm tempted not to talk to you for a while, but that would be unfair... since I'm not a hundred percent sure you're at fault here. It could still be a coincidence."

_What on Earth is she talking about?_ "May, wha-?"

May sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Just... forget it, okay?" She made her way past him toward the kitchen. "Just go watch TV or something."

"And where are _you_ going?"

"To get some aspirin; I have a headache." She lowered her voice. "The biggest in history, in fact... and he has green hair."

Realising who she was talking about, Max rolled his eyes.


	20. A Decision of Grave Importance

Author's note: Uh... well... reasons for not updating sooner would be: first, I had writer's block... then, after that, I just couldn't be bothered. Lol.

Also, just to have something different and time-filling, this chapter contains blushshipping (Brock/Lucy) and two shippings, one of which I like to call 'one-linershipping' (Brock/Lisa - she's the girl from the third movie) and one of which is actually called 'badgemakingshipping' (Tracey/Sakura). If Brock/Lisa has another name, please let me know what it is... _and_ you can even decide amongst yourselves which girl Brock should have. I'm slightly indecisive about it, you see, so let me know what you think. Lol.

On another note, it'll be more difficult for me to update for a while, 'cause our Internet's been unplugged by UKOnline and I'll only be able to use the Internet at college and the library... _but_ I assure you, we'll get it back once my mother joins Sky. (Yeah, she decided to switch, due to cheaper costs, so she didn't pay the bill. That's why we've been unplugged. Lol.)

Finally, yes, the title is a slight mockery of the chapter's storyline. (Haha. I finished this at three in the morning and I'm still as happy as can be. Yay!)

**Chapter Twenty: A Decision of Grave Importance**

"You gotta help me!" Brock Peters screeched, kneeling on the grass and interlinking his fingers desperately.

Ash Ketchum, Misty Waterflower, May Styles, Max Styles, Tracey Sketchit and Sakura Yamata merely stared at the sixteen-year-old in disbelief, shock and... slight embarrassment.

It was under a week after Drew had revealed to May his brand new form of teasing... which he was still continuing to use and was succeeding in driving her crazy with confusion with it... and Brock had arranged an urgent meeting over MSN with his six closest friends and told them to meet him at the park.

"Uh, okay..." Ash replied. "What with?"

"I've fallen in love!"

Misty folded her arms and lowered her eyelids at him. "Pfft... yeah, so what else is new?" she asked.

"I'm serious!"

Max placed his knuckles on his hips. "How many times have we heard _that_ one before?" he asked.

"Yeah, face it, Brock..." Tracey added, his arm linked with Sakura's, "it's not like this doesn't happen a _lot_."

Brock stood up, his face defiant. "I'm telling you, I'm really in love this time!" he stated.

Sakura giggled. "_Sure_ you are..." she said.

"I am!"

"Anyway, Brock," Misty said, "even if you _were_ in love... which I know you're not... you have a _girlfriend_. Remember Lisa?"

Brock ruffled his hair, aggravated. "Argh! _Yes_! And that's where the _problem_ comes in!" He suddenly jammed his hand into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out his wallet. Opening it, he showed it to them. "This is Lisa! Look at her, she's beautiful!"

Everyone looked and saw a photograph of Brock with his arm around a girl his age with long dark blue hair and amber eyes cuddling an Aipom doll, the sight of a Ferris wheel behind them.

"Mmm," Misty said, nodding.

"Yeah, she _is_ quite pretty," Sakura added.

"We were at a carnival that day..." Brock said, closing his wallet and placing it back in his pocket. "She saw that Pokemon doll and said she just had to have it." He smiled slightly. "I had to knock down a stack of cans with a bean bag to win it, but it was worth it to see her smile like she did."

"Aww, how sweet," May said, also smiling.

Brock nodded. "Mmm... then, right before we had a go on the Ferris wheel, we asked a passer-by to take our picture... and I've been treasuring it ever since."

"Well," Max said, adjusting his glasses, "you obviously love your girlfriend... so why would you wanna ruin your relationship by chasing after other girls?"

Brock sighed. "I can't help it... _you_ know _that_..." He paused for a moment. "I'm always falling in love with pretty girls... but this time was different."

Misty groaned. "_How_ could it _possibly_ be different, Brock?" she asked. "I can't _tell_ you how many times you've mentioned online how you've annoyed Lisa by drooling over some other girl."

Ash laughed. "Yeah, like those twin restaurant owners, Rhoda and Rhonda?" he asked.

"Or that pink-haired nurse at the hospital?" Tracey added.

"Or that blue-haired policewoman at the police station?" Sakura added.

"Hey! Their names were Joy and Jenny!" Brock corrected.

Tracey held up a hand. "Sorry," he said.

"Speaking of names..." May interrupted, "this girl you fell for... what was hers?"

Brock sighed again. "Lucy... Snake Queen Lucy."

"'Snake Queen Lucy'?" everyone asked at once.

"Mmm hmm."

"O-kay..." Ash said.

"I took Lisa on a date to the zoo just last week... and they were doing a show about snakes... y'know, boa constrictors, vipers and such... and that's when _she_ made the scene... when we went to watch the show." He paused for a moment. "She only looked eighteen or so, but she was an absolute _expert_ with snakes. It was also her job to _put on_ the show."

"She was doing the performance herself?" Sakura asked, amazed.

"Yeah... that's how she got the nickname Snake Queen Lucy... and, as soon as I saw her, I just couldn't control myself."

"Lemme guess..." Misty said, "you charged straight over, grabbed her hands and proclaimed undying love. Am I right?"

"Well, not _straight_ away... since she was busy performing and I was up there, sitting in the stands."

"So... you jumped up and declared your love in the stands, then went down and did your thing _after_ the show?"

"... Yeah."

"Thought so."

"How'd _Lisa_ take it?" Tracey asked.

Brock lowered his head. "Not good," he replied.

* * *

"_Oh, my sweet darling angel!" Brock declared, grabbing onto Lucy's hands. "You fell from Heaven into my waiting arms! We were meant to be together forever! The Heavens themselves declared it so!"_

_Lucy's eyes widened and her cheeks burned bright red._

"_Hey!" Lisa shouted, storming over, grabbing her boyfriend's ear and dragging him away._

"_Ow, not the ear, not the ear..."_

_Once they were a reasonable distance away from Lucy... who was doing a very peculiar thing by holding one hand close to her chest with the other... Lisa let go of Brock's ear and placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him._

"_How many times have I had to put up with this, Brock?" she asked icily._

"_But, Lisa-"_

"_No! I don't want to hear your pitiful excuses! I've had enough! You understand me? Enough! You always act that way around __**other**__ girls, but you never __**once**__ did that with __**me**__! All you did was ask if I wanted to be your girlfriend! And, at first, I said no, 'cause it seemed too fast for me... but, after getting to know you a little, I decided to give you a chance."_

"_I-"_

"_I'm not finished yet!"_

"_... Sorry."_

"_Throughout all the time we've been together, I've grown to like you so much, Brock... but you've constantly been hurting me with your obsession with other girls! I've completely lost count of how many girls you've hit on while we've been together. Hundreds? Thousands?"_

"_But-"_

"_Still not finished."_

"_Sorry."_

"_So, I think I need some... time away from you for a while... until I can decide where I want to go next with this relationship. I mean, you don't really seem to care about me as much as you could and... I also think it's best if I give __**you**__ time to decide what... or who... you really want."_

* * *

"Ouch..." May said, cringing slightly.

"That's harsh," Max added.

Ash merely blinked, not quite sure what to say... him not being much of an expert on love and not quite understanding a couple of things anyway.

"You guys gotta help me," Brock said pitifully. "I can't decide what to do."

"Uh..." Tracey offered.

"Do I choose Lisa, the girl I've been dating for a year now?"

"Um..." Misty offered.

"Or do I choose Lucy, the girl I've fallen heads over heels for?"

"Well..." Sakura offered.

"Oh, I can't decide! If I choose Lucy, then my perfect relationship with Lisa's over! But, if I choose Lisa, then I'll lose Lucy, the new love of my life and the only girl who blushed when I held her hands and proclaimed undying love!"

"Brock, calm down," Ash said. "Just take it easy, okay?" Exhaling, Brock settled, slumping his shoulders. "I'm sure there's an easy solution to this."

Brock suddenly looked hopeful. "And you can help me find out what it is, right?"

Ash was taken aback. "Uh... well, I..."

Misty chuckled. "Yeah, right," she said, her arms still folded. "The day Ash Ketchum becomes the guy to ask for advice on love is the day the world stops spinning."

Ash glared at her and opened his mouth to say something back when an outcry from Brock silenced him.

"Argh!" the teenager screamed. "I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do! I'm turning desperate!"

"Well," May said, "maybe consulting _us_ wasn't the best idea."

"Yeah," Max agreed. "I mean, come on... one of us is nine, one's ten, one's eleven, two are twelve and one... is sixteen, but has a twelve-year-old for a girlfriend."

"Hey!" Tracey and Sakura said at the same time.

"Hmm, true..." Brock replied before looking at his best friend. "Why _did_ you pick Sakura for a girlfriend anyway, Trace?"

Tracey blushed. "I happen to _like_ her is why!" he said defiantly.

"Yeah, but... she's four years younger than you."

"So? Just because _you_ prefer older girls, it doesn't mean _every_ boy does!"

"But... four years..."

"What's the big deal?"

"You've nearly reached the end of high school... and she's still in junior high."

"Who cares? You've got a thing for... what were they called? Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny? And they're... what? About six years _older_ than you?"

Brock blushed. "Y-Yeah? What's your point?"

"Enough already!" Misty yelled. "We all know you both have different preferences when it comes to girls, so let's just leave it at that, okay?"

"Okay..." both boys muttered.

"Now, Brock... I really don't think anyone here can give you advice about your love life."

"Yeah..." May said, "it's _your_ decision to make."

"Not ours," Max added.

"Just go with your heart, Brock," Sakura said, clutching her boyfriend's arm a little tighter.

"Mmm..." Tracey said, nodding, "just give yourself some time to think it over... then go with whichever girl you feel you love more."

Ash remained silent throughout this conversation, not really one to know enough about love to present his opinion on it.

"Thanks, guys," Brock said, smiling.

"Sorry we couldn't be more help," Misty apologised.

Brock shook his head. "It's okay."

A short silence fell upon the group.

"So... this Lucy..." Max said, attempting to break the ice, "what's she look like?"

Brock chuckled. "Well, she's taller than me... and has a great physique, long black hair, a beautiful face and red eyes that, when you see them, remind you instantly of a snake's eyes..."

By the end of his little speech, he'd drifted off into his own world and was practically drooling. Everyone found this rather amusing... and Misty decided it was her duty to snap her fingers in front of his face to try and wake him out of his trance... but, so far, it wasn't working.

"My turn," Max said, cracking his fingers.

In an instant, everyone was cracking up with laughter, as the small nine-year-old had grabbed the tall sixteen-year-old by the ear and was dragging him across the park. Needless to say, it was definitely effective in its primary goal.

"Ow! Ow! Hey, not the ear!"

Finally, the laughter died down and conversation struck up again.

"Heh... and his surname, Peters, is supposed to mean 'rock'..." Misty said. "Some rock _he_ makes." Everyone chuckled. "He melts like butter around a pretty girl and cracks like an egg under pressure." The chuckling became louder. "Anyway... how are your sisters, Sakura?"

"Oh, they're fine," Sakura replied.

"They're... quadruplets, right?" May asked.

"Yeah... did Misty tell you that?"

"Mmm hmm."

"They're sorta like _my_ older sisters," Misty added.

"Yeah," Sakura agreed, "'cause, in both cases, we get overshadowed by them."

Misty pulled a face. "Everyone pays attention to their 'beauty' and 'perfection' and _completely_ ignore _us_."

"That's how we became friends in the _first_ place."

"Wow, that's cool," May said.

"Heh, yeah."

Once again, Ash said nothing, this time having nothing to add to such a girly conversation. Tracey, oddly enough, did the same.

"So, what are your sisters _up_ to nowadays?" Misty asked.

"Well, mainly tea ceremonies."

"Wow, cool. Mine are working on being actress models."

"Really? Wow."

"Hey, Sakura," May said, "what are your sisters called?"

"Satsuki... Sumono... Tameo... and Kome."

"Awesome names... and how old are they?"

"Sixteen. I was born four years later."

"Cool. It's a wonder Tracey isn't going out with one of _them_ instead."

Sakura laughed. "Hey! If you're not careful, I could take that as an insult."

May laughed back. "So, by any chance, are your sisters friends with _Misty's_ sisters?"

"You bet they are! They've known each other for years! And it was strange how _they_ became friends and _we_ became friends without even being _introduced_ to one another!"

May laughed. "Wow, that _is_ freaky!"

"Uh, guys?" Max called over. Everyone turned round to look at him. "In case you haven't noticed, it's getting dark out! Plus, lover boy here's ready to go home and start thinking about his future! Should _we_ go home _too_?"

May took a glance at the darkening sky and sighed. "Yeah, guess we'd better... Okay, Max! I'll be there in a minute!" She paused. "See ya, guys."

"See ya," Ash, Misty, Tracey and Sakura replied.

Eventually, after a few more goodbyes were said, the seven friends each scattered in different directions, heading for home... and another day's 'adventure' was over and done with.


	21. A Troublesome Day

Author's note: Wow... it's been a while since I updated, huh? Heh. And quite a few of you have moped about that. :P Well, blame the exams I've been having lately; they're stressful and cause a lack of sleep.

Also, the name I invented for the Brock/Lisa fandom, since greenfieldshipping is already taken (seriously, Skyler/Lisa? Lol. How random), is one-linershipping... since Brock only used one line on Lisa when he met her, which was, "I'm Brock from Pewter City... and I wanna be your boyfriend!" Lol. Pass it round. :) It might catch on.

This chapter has lots of Drew/May, you'll all be pleased to know... but, seriously, is it me or have I made it 'a Monday morning' a bit too often? Haha. Plus, it's rather irritating that I started this in September... and it's now June and the BMJH crew are still stuck in December...

And, finally, the little... something-something you'll come across in this chapter belongs to sunkissed42594. You'll know what I mean when you come to it. ;) (Wow, this chapter came out almost _nothing_ like I'd planned it to... but oh well! Lol. And it's now 4am. Yay.)

**Chapter Twenty-one: A Troublesome Day**

It was a couple of days after everyone had witnessed Brock Peters' outburst of emotion in the park over his 'traumatic ordeal' concerning Lisa and Lucy, making it Monday morning once again... and May was seriously beginning to hate how often that day kept coming round... not that it could be helped, of course.

"So, May," Misty said as they walked to their separate lockers together, "fancy going Christmas shopping with me and Ash during the holidays?"

"Sure," May replied.

"Got any ideas what to buy anyone yet?"

"Nope... you?"

"Nope." The two girls chuckled.

Suddenly, Misty stopped dead in her tracks and May, though beside her, was still slightly behind her, so they bumped shoulders.

"What is it?" May looked in the direction Misty was looking and spotted a familiar mat of green hair. "Oh... him."

"Yeah..." Misty quickly turned round. "I think I'll take the long way. See you at recess."

"Okay... bye."

As May watched Misty disappear down the corridor, a very slight feeling of betrayal... or something of the like... hit her; Misty had abandoned her to face Drew alone? Yeah... great.

As she reached her locker, he was doing his usual 'Drew thing' by leaning on his locker, flipping his hair and smirking at her. She merely rolled her eyes and tried her best to ignore him as she retrieved her Art folder... planning to pick up her P.E. kit after Art class, just like she usually did, so she wouldn't have to carry it round.

A few moments later, however, she was growing suspicious; he hadn't said a single word yet... no 'May' puns, no 'belle' puns, not even a simple 'hello'. She looked up at him... and found him _still_ smirking at her. Slightly uncomfortable, yet rising to the challenge, she stared intently back at him, determined to make him talk first. He raised an eyebrow at her, _still_ smirking... which suddenly made her feel very _very_ worried. What would make him do that? He didn't have valuable dirt on her or something, did he? The thought alone made her shudder.

Still staring at him, she shook her head, attempting to communicate, "_What_?" without speaking a word, which was apparently funny, as he chuckled and flipped his hair again.

"You never cease to look ridiculous, you know," he said.

May rolled her eyes again, closing her locker and locking it. "And good morning to you too, Mop Top."

His smirk vanished and his eyebrows shot up, disappearing into his hair. May turned away slightly and smirked; it was only last night that she'd come up with that new nickname for him... and was rather disappointed in herself that she hadn't thought of it before.

Drew cleared his throat. "Uh, yeah, well... how are _you_ today?"

May gave him a funny look; he was asking how she was? Now she _knew_ he was up to something. "Uh... fine thanks... you?"

"I'm... pretty good."

There was a long, gruelling silence where the smirk slowly crept back onto Drew's face... making a frown creep onto May's face.

"For Pete's sake, _what_?"

Drew chuckled. "No need to shriek at me... I've done nothing wrong."

"Not _yet_ you haven't... but I know you're up to something."

Drew raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?"

"_Yes_, that's so!"

"_Well_... I'm offended. Here I am, minding my own business, and you're accusing me of being up to no good."

May narrowed her eyes at him; why hadn't he made any 'belle' puns yet? It was all he'd been doing all week and now he'd just suddenly stopped? It just didn't seem right... Had he finally gotten fed up with it? Or was there a sinister plot behind it?

Drew glanced out the windows on the doors. "Nice day."

Now May was _really_ confused... though she didn't want to voice her thoughts aloud; she was perfectly happy _without_ his stupid 'belle' puns... but her curiosity was killing her.

She was saved by the bell, however, so off she rushed to class, shooting Drew confused looks as she did so... though all she got in return was that same, irritating smirk.

* * *

After Art and P.E., during which May could think about _nothing_ but Drew and that sinister smirk of his that made her incredibly suspicious of him, it was recess... and she was back at her locker, putting away her Art folder and pulling out her English and Math books... and who should show up but good ol' Mop Top?

"Hey there," he said cheerfully, doing the same as her and switching his Science and English books for his History and Math books.

"Uh, hi..." she replied cautiously.

As soon as he'd locked his locker, he gave a wave of the hand, said, "See ya" and walked off down the corridor... and, if May had been in a cartoon, her jaw would have smacked the floor. He was... _walking away from her_? What the-? What the absolute-? Why was he doing that?

May shook her head, even giving it a slight smack, just to be sure she wasn't imagining things. She took another look and, yes, Drew had disappeared. _Unbelievable_.

* * *

During recess, May started off wanting to tell Ash and Misty about what had just happened... but, as soon as she reached them at their point in the queue, she knew it was a bad idea, as, once again, they were arguing about something.

"No, I didn't!" Ash shouted.

"Yes, you did!" Misty shouted.

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Yes, you did! Stop lying!"

"No, I didn't! And I'm not lying!"

May sighed; did she really want to know? She gave herself ten seconds to debate the matter... and decided that she didn't... so she kept quiet.

* * *

Finally, once recess, English and Math were over, May was back at her locker, putting away the books she had, though not pulling out any books, as she had Sewing and Drama, which didn't really require books... and she hadn't used her Skitty notebook, which she'd also put in her locker, for quite some time... and wasn't planning to right now, either.

"Afternoon," Drew said as he put away his books, though, like her, not pulling any back out... just a P.E. kit and a piece of paper.

"Hey," May replied. "No, uh, lessons requiring books?"

"Nope... just like always."

"Oh..." _Wow, I should really pay more attention to these things..._ "Me neither."

"That so?"

"Yeah." There was a slight pause. "What lessons you got?"

Drew smirked. "Besides P.E., you mean?"

"Well... heh... yeah."

"Cooking."

He showed her the piece of paper, which turned out to be a recipe for something, before quickly swiping it away again and placing it upside-down on his P.E. kit.

"What'cha gonna cook?"

Drew smirked again. "You wanna know... then you meet me here after last lesson."

May was slightly taken aback by this. "Oh... okay."

"See ya."

In a flash, Drew was off down the corridor again... and May was left staring at the back of his head in confusion until he rounded the corner and disappeared from view. She then shook her head and took off for class.

* * *

Eventually, it was two o' clock and the day was over with, to May's relief... meaning that her parents would be arriving outside the school in the family car fairly soon... but her relief was short-lived, as she suddenly remembered that Drew wanted to meet up with her by their lockers.

What notorious scheme had he cooked up? What was he planning to spring on her? It was the end of the day and, usually, the perfect time, besides the morning, to pull something on her, as Mondays usually made her quite tired, having slept in during the weekend. Now she was really starting to worry.

Since she had no books to put away, she felt incredibly foolish standing by her locker and not doing anything. In fact, she could have sworn that a couple of girls had thrown her strange looks. She merely looked away and pretended not to notice them.

"Ah, you're here," a voice she recognised all too well said.

She turned to face the bane of her existence. "Yeah... hi, Drew," she replied.

She noticed that he was carrying a glass bowl covered in cellophane and was instantly back to wondering what he was up to.

Drew indicated the bowl with a nod of his head. "Wanna see?"

Sensing danger, May slowly nodded, extremely cautious... and waited patiently as Drew removed the cellophane and handed her the bowl. Gulping, she edged her face over the bowl.

Drew laughed, making her look up at him. "What are you expecting to find? A boxing glove springing out and bashing you in the face?"

May pulled a face at him and, taking one last glance at the bowl, looked inside it to find...

"What's this?"

"Tagliatelle."

"Huh?"

"It's a pasta dish with cheese sauce... and bits of ham."

"... Oh." _Huh... maybe he's __**not**__ up to anything today, after all. Maybe I really __**can**__ trust him._ May smiled. _Maybe he really __**has**__ just gotten fed up of 'belle' puns._ She looked up at Drew. _Maybe... maybe he actually... wants to be my friend?_ She noticed Drew smiling at her. _Yeah... I think that could be it._

Handing back the bowl, she felt, for the first time that day, really happy... and completely filled with trust. He wasn't out to tease her today! And that felt more amazing that anyone could possibly imagine.

"How about I walk you outside? Your parents should be here soon, right?"

"Yeah... thanks, Drew."

* * *

The walk to the road outside the school was amazingly pleasant to May, as she and Drew chatted casually about... well... all sorts of things. They talked about their families, their hobbies, which seemed to be fairly similar, both involving MSN and Pokemon games, their favourite Pokemon, May's being Skitty and Beautifly and Drew's being Roselia and Flygon, their favourite songs, May's being 'Just The Girl' by The Click 5 and Drew's being 'Enter Sandman' by Metallica, though they did have open-mindedness about music in general in common, and even their favourite colours... though the latter was rather obvious, anyway; May's was red and Drew's was green.

After all those months of knowing Drew, May was finally able to see him in a new light... a positive light... and found that she just couldn't stop smiling at him. His past behaviour towards her didn't matter... all that mattered was the here and now... and, in the here and now, he was being so nice to her that she felt as if they'd been best friends for years... and was almost into thinking that maybe the real Drew had been abducted and replaced by a Drew clone... one much nicer than the original. She had to chuckle at that.

"That your dad's car?" Drew asked, pointing down the road.

May looked in the direction he was pointing. "Yep, that's the one," she replied.

"Guess I'll see you tomorrow then, huh?"

May chuckled. "Course you will... you see me every day."

Drew chuckled too. "Very true."

There was a moment in which May looked unblinkingly at Drew with a smile on her face... and he was doing he same... as the wind gently blew their hair and the remaining sunlight of the day made their faces glow a slightly golden colour.

It took a few seconds, but they both eventually looked away, May glowing on the inside; she'd made a friend in Drew! She'd made a friend in Drew! She wasn't really sure why that made her so happy, but it did.

As her father parked the family car, May sneaked a glance at Drew... and was shocked out of her mind to see that he was staring at his Tagliatelle with a _blush_ on his face! For a few moments, she just couldn't stop staring; she had never _ever_ seen him blush before!

When he noticed she was staring at him and looked up, she looked away, blushing herself in her embarrassment... and she praised the Heavens when her father wound down his window and called out to her.

"Hey, May! Come on!" he said.

"Well..." May said, "guess I'll see ya, Drew."

"Yeah..." he replied. Waving goodbye, May walked off towards her father's car. "Oh, wait!"

May stopped and looked back at him. "Yeah?"

"Hold this bowl for me a sec, would ya?"

"Oh... sure." Returning to Drew's side, she took the bowl off him just before he began to dig around in his pocket. "What's up?"

"I've got a present I wanted to give you."

May's slight blush returned. "A present?" She smiled. "You giving me another rose?"

"No, not _this_ time."

May's expression turned curious. _Gee,_ she thought, _if it isn't a rose, I wonder what it could be..._

He pulled the present from his pocket and held it out for her. Shifting the bowl's weight, she freed one hand and grabbed hold of whatever it was, then carefully handed the bowl back to Drew. Next, she turned her attention to the object he'd just given her. She raised an eyebrow, pulling the lid off the black cylinder, revealing... red lipstick. She looked up at Drew, who was back to smirking at her. Suddenly, she felt a disturbance in the peace.

"Like it?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks, Drew." May paused. "So... what made you want to get me this, anyway? Y'know... out of curiosity."

Drew shrugged. "It goes with your outfit?"

May blinked at him. _Is... that all?_ she thought.

As a silver car pulled up beside Norman's car, Drew began walking towards it, still smirking at May. She continued to stare at him and, just as he reached the car door, he shrugged again and called out, "_May_-be it's _Maybelle_-ine!"

May suddenly felt as though a train had smacked into her at full speed without stopping. Her breath caught in her throat... her heart skipped a beat... her eyes widened... and her mouth dropped open... all while Drew was giving her both the widest smirk possible and a two-fingered salute before climbing into his car. This... couldn't... be... happening...

In her immense shock, she walked very slowly towards her car and climbed in, still staring unblinkingly ahead of her. She didn't even completely register whatever her mother said to her before giving up and telling her father to set off home.

Drew knew her name... he actually knew her name... She'd always suspected... but never actually thought... and she'd thought... that he was her friend... but he... did _this_ to her... meaning that he... had planned this all day... hoping to trick her... and he succeeded... meaning that... he was going to torture her forever... with the valuable dirt he'd dug up on her... meaning that... she was so... totally... screwed... for the rest... of her life...


	22. Bantering with the Enemy

Author's note: Jeez... sorry... this update was really slow. It's 'cause I wanted to get college out of the way first before working on this.

Okay, I have good new and bad news. The good news is: I finished all my exams and lessons, so I'm on my summer break! Yay! The bad news is: I still have no Internet at home, so I can only go on it at the library... but you can only use a library computer for an hour at a time and those darn computers are about as fast as a snail... so updates and replies will be slow. Sorry... again.

Also, 1) as much as I want to claim 'May-be it's Maybelle-ine'... since it's so awesome... I can't, as it belongs to the fabulous sunkissed42594, 2) romancerox owns the little Maybelle mickey-take I wrote in this chapter (coz she put it in a review once and I've gone and used it) and 3) I own Mick, Mike and Mark.

**Chapter Twenty-two: Bantering with the Enemy**

The day after the incredibly cruel prank played on Maybelle 'May' Styles, it was Tuesday... and the one who had pulled the prank, Andrew 'Drew' O'Cadhla, was walking down the halls of Blue Moon Junior High that morning with a light smirk on his face. He was in such a good mood that all flirty fangirls that came his way received the trademark hair-flip/hair-brush to send them swooning.

He realised that he'd been cruel with Maybelle... _unbelievably_ cruel... but he found that the kicks he'd gotten from it more than made up for that. He did, after all, spend all of Sunday planning his diabolical five-step plan... something he liked to call 'Operation: GATTRAG - Gain A Trust, Then Ruin A Girl'. Step one: in the morning, be his usual cocky self to make her think that everything's normal. Step two: act innocent and drop all 'May' and 'belle' puns to confuse her. Step three: act super nice to catch her off-guard. Step four: keep up the 'nice guy' act long enough for her to trust him. Step five: completely ruin her with a 'May-be it's Maybelle-ine' joke... which was, of course, inspired by a well-known make-up advert he'd seen on TV on Sunday night.

There had been a problem during step four, however... and thinking about this made his smirk slowly disappear. While he'd been keeping up his 'nice guy' act, he'd gotten far too friendly with the girl... chatting comfortably with her about their favourite things, such as hobbies and music... even telling her that one of his favourite Pokemon, Roselia, was the thing that got him so into roses, for Pete's sake... and, in that one moment, when they were smiling at each other, the romantic in him had suddenly noticed how beautiful she'd looked with sunlight shining on her face and the wind tugging at her hair...

He frowned slightly as he thought about what had happened next; once Maybelle had looked away, he'd blushed at his thoughts about her beauty and, realising instantly that his face was burning, looked down at his Tagliatelle in pure embarrassment... considering that he wasn't one to blush, generally... and actually considered calling off the plan. Why? Because he'd rather liked becoming her friend and felt slightly guilty about the whole thing being a hoax... but what did he do in the end? He stuck to his stupid male pride and went through with the plan anyway.

Sighing, he leaned on the nearest locker and loosely folded his arms, staring at the floor; he may have seriously ruined something precious there. After all, it had been a long time since he'd had a friend... and he _had_ been jealous of the fact that she had Ash and Misty, and he didn't, for some time now... plus, _now_, she was also his crush... and he'd never made friends with a crush before... though, to be fair, he'd never really_ had_ a crush before...

_Jeez..._ Drew thought, already sick of his inner ramblings. _If my mind doesn't shut up, I'm gonna get a headache..._

Looking up, he spotted Maybelle getting a Math book from her locker at the other end of the corridor, seemingly oblivious to his presence... and something told him that he ought to go over and say something taunting, but one look at her miserable, downtrodden face made him hold his tongue; it could wait until later... he wasn't really in the mood to tease her right now. Instead, he walked the other way, hands in his pockets, and planned to pick up his books once she'd gone.

* * *

Once Sewing and Math were over, making it recess, May trudged over to her locker to put away her Math book and get out her Science book... as she had Drama and Science next... and felt a sense of dread about her; she knew that she'd be seeing Drew very soon... since she'd strangely missed him that morning... and was certain that he'd say something torturous when she did.

"Morning, _Maybelle_," Drew said as he waltzed over, smirking at her.

Horror-stricken, May turned to face him. He was calling her by her... her... incredibly embarrassing real name! She quickly turned round to see if anyone was nearby... but, luckily, no one was. She felt slightly relieved; no one had heard him say her name... the name that made her sound like a... cow... Oh, good grief, she could hear it now... 'Time to milk Maybelle'...

She turned back to Drew, her horror suddenly turning to fury. She frowned, clenching her free fist and gritting her teeth. How _dare_ he call her that! He had _no right_, the little... good-for-nothing... snot-nosed... snot-haired... punk!

"Don't... call me that..." she snarled.

Drew leaned on his locker, raising an eyebrow at her. "Or what?"

Her blue eyes blazed at him. "Or... something very unpleasant."

Drew chuckled. "Oh, come now, _Maybelle_... empty threats won't work on _me_."

She lifted a clenched fist. "Who said they were empty?"

Drew eyed the fist warily and May smirked; oh yeah... he _clearly_ hadn't forgotten Thanksgiving Day... where she'd very nearly knocked his brains out for insulting Ash and Misty.

Drew flicked his hair to one side and returned to smirking. "No need for violence, _Maybelle_."

May's eye twitched in fury. _Man_, was she tempted to punch him... She clenched her fist harder and it began to shake. _No one_, absolutely _no one_ was allowed to call her 'Maybelle'... _ever_. She'd hated it since she was three... when her new neighbours' children, three six-year old triplets called Mick, Mike and Mark, had bullied her to no end about it whenever they came to visit... or whenever _she'd_ visited _them_... causing her to burst into tears every single time. She'd been over the moon when they'd moved away again a year later, when she was four... but her experiences with them were probably why she was so shy when she went to Blue Moon Kindergarten the next year, when she was five. It certainly didn't help.

"Just... leave me alone..."

"Mmm, sorry, can't do that."

She glared at him, hard. "Why not?"

Drew shrugged. "Hey, I can't help it if our lockers are next to each other, can I, _Maybelle_?"

May exploded. "_Urgh_! Stop _calling_ me that!"

"Why? It's your name, isn't it?"

"That's not the point!"

"It's not?"

"No!"

Drew chuckled again. "Then what _is_?"

The chuckling just infuriated May more. "I don't _like_ that name! You _know_ that!"

"Yeah...? And...?"

May banged her forehead on her locker, relieving some emotional pain and replacing it with physical pain. _Why've I gotta have the pain in the backside for a locker neighbour?_ she thought. _**Why**_

"Hmm?" Apparently, he was still waiting for her to say something.

May gave a deep, heavy sigh. "Look... if you wanna call me something, why not 'May'? That's what everyone _else_ calls me."

"Is it, now?"

"Yes."

Drew paused a moment. "Mmm... nah."

"Why not?"

Drew smirked. "Because calling you 'Maybelle' gets you riled up."

May glared at him again. "And why would you want me to get riled up?"

"Because it's amusing."

Huffing, May turned on her heel. "Fine... _be_ a jerk... see if _I_ care..." She began storming off.

"Uh, do I need to remind you that a locker's called a locker for a reason?"

May stopped and banged her forehead on the nearest locker.

* * *

As Ashton 'Ash' Ketchum's third lesson of the day, Woodshop, ended, he began to head off to Music, sighing as he did so... but not because he didn't _like_ Music... he _loved_ Music... What was bothering him was the fact that he already knew what was in store for him... and his name was Gareth 'Gary' Oak.

It was perfectly true that Ash and Gary were very good friends now... which some people still couldn't believe, considering how, in elementary school, Gary always used to brag about how much better he was at tests than Ash, which would cause Ash to boil with rage... but there was still the little matter of their once-a-day banter in Music class.

Entering the Music room, he sat down and waited, one leg crossed over the over and his arms loosely folded, and, a couple of minutes later, Gary entered. He was alone, of course, since class was one of the only times of the day he wasn't being flagged by fangirls. He sat down beside Ash.

"Hey, Ashy-boy," he said with a smirk on his face.

"Hey, Gary..." Ash replied with very little enthusiasm.

"Aw, what's wrong? Not happy to see me?"

Ash rolled his eyes. "When did I say _that_?"

"You didn't... but I know you were _thinking_ it."

Ash decided to be submissive of the comment. "Mmm..."

Once the rest of the class had filed in and the Music teacher, Mr. Donovan, had taken the register, it was time to start the class.

"Alright," Mr. Donovan said, "what I want you all to do today is each take a keyboard between two and compose a tune, which will be presented to the class in half an hour. One person composes the melody and the other composes the chords."

The keyboard players of the class were content enough with this request, but everyone else _wasn't_ so happy.

"Why can't we practice the instruments we _like_?" Gary asked. "And are _good_ at?"

Mr. Donovan sighed gently. "Because I always think it's a good idea for students to practice playing instruments they're _not_ so good at." He paused. "Plus, it's a school requirement."

Deciding not to argue, the class all split up and took a keyboard between two. Ash and Gary chose to sit together, since they were friends and all... but Ash was still inwardly groaning.

"Well, since you can't carry a tune to save your life, _I'll_ handle composing the melody."

"Hey!" Ash protested. "I _can so_ carry a tune!"

"Pfft... if you think that, then it looks like you need a hearing aid."

"I'll have you know, I can run _circles_ round you, Gary!"

"Heh, you wish."

Ash growled. "Why _else_ would I be the lead guitarist in our band?"

"We've been over this; it's 'cause the teacher pities you."

"Is not!"

Gary chuckled. "Cute."

"_What's_ cute?"

"How you wanna play the 'Is not', 'Is too' game. I'm not Misty, y'know."

Ash huffed. "Don't you think I _know_ that?"

"I hope so, because I wouldn't want you to get us mixed up and end up kissing _me_."

Ash's face tinted slightly. "What are you implying there?"

Gary smirked at him, one eyebrow raised. "Oh, come _on_... even _you_ can't be _that_ oblivious."

Suddenly embarrassed, Ash turned away, unable to look Gary in the eye. "Don't know what you're talking about..."

Gary laughed. "You little liar!"

"Misty's just my-"

"Friend? _Sure_ she is."

Ash cleared his throat. _I gotta change this subject, fast,_ he thought. "So, uh... let's get to work on this composition. We need to make up a melody and chords."

Gary chuckled. "Yeah, sure... and, since you're _so_ desperate to do the melody, go ahead... but, you know, since I can play both the drums _and_ the guitar-"

"Just... shut up, okay?"

All Gary did in response was chuckle again.

Sitting on their respective sides of the keyboard, they began to plan a tune together, Ash working on the melody and Gary working on the chords. After thinking for a short time, Ash wrote down some music notes in pencil.

"Heh... that's pathetic, Ashy-boy." Ash ground his teeth together and clenched his fists. "Come _on_, you can't follow the tune up with _that_." Gary erased the notes and replaced them with new notes. "Try this instead."

"I _think_ I can handle it, Gary."

Gary smirked. "Oh, you think so?"

"Yes!"

"Well, I disagree."

"But it was _fine_!"

"Well, I disagree."

"But-"

"Ah!"

"Gary-"

"Nope!"

"Just let me-"

"Not listening!"

Frustrated, Ash banged his forehead on the keyboard.

* * *

Trudging out of Music class, Ash headed for his locker, once again fed up after another day of bantering with Gary... even though their final presentation _did_ turn out okay... eventually... after much squabbling.

Spotting May by her locker, he was about to walk over and say hi to her when he saw Drew approaching her. He stopped in his tracks and ducked back behind the corner to eavesdrop.

"Hey, _Maybelle_," Drew said.

Ash's eyes widened. _He knows her real name's __**Maybelle**__ now?_ he thought._ Well, that's not good._

May sighed heavily and slammed her locker door shut. "For Pete's sake, Drew!" she screeched. "Just call me May! _May_!"

"Hmm... how about no?"

Ash turned away from the banter, realising instantly that he wasn't the only one suffering today. _Poor May..._ he thought, _having Drew know her real name that she hates __**and**__ taunting her with it..._

There was suddenly a great bang, which made Ash nearly jump out of his skin.

"Ow..." he heard May mutter. He flinched, having a vague idea of what May must have just done to herself.

"Uh, that's not good for your health, y'know..." he heard Drew mutter in response.

"I _know_!"

Looking back round, Ash noticed May rubbing her forehead and Drew looking at her with a slightly worried expression on his face.

Drew's expression then turned into a smirk and he flipped his hair. "Well, don't do it, then."

May lowered her voice back to a mutter. "With _you_ for company, are you _that_ surprised about me whacking my head on my locker?"

Drew merely chuckled in response.

Ash turned away again, shaking his head in pity for his poor friend as he walked the other way to the lunchroom. Man, she was really suffering when it came to Drew... but, since he had no desire to walk past the green-haired tyrant, and had the perfect excuse not to, since he had no books to put away, he didn't.


	23. Jingle Bell Rock

Author's note: Eh... sorry the update took so long. I've been on two separate weekend holidays/vacations, one after the other. The first was to Paris (which included Disneyland. Yay!) and the second was to Llandudno (which is in Wales, for those who don't know). Not only that, but, for some reason, this chapter's been difficult to write... even though I had the basic outline planned some time ago... Plus, I'm not always in the _mood_ to write. Lol. Anyway, I hope what the chapter contains will be worth the wait.

**Chapter Twenty-three: Jingle Bell Rock**

Three days after the day May and Ash had needed to vent out their anger by slamming their foreheads into solid objects, which they had stopped doing, since it had caused them both quite a bit of pain, it was two o'clock on a Friday afternoon, signalling the end of school and the beginning of the Christmas vacation.

May was relieved; finally, she'd be away from Drew, the insensitive jerk. He'd simply refused to stop calling her 'Maybelle' for the past three days straight... and four times each day, no less... making it twelve times in total... Oy... migraine alert...

As she began exiting the building with Ash and Misty, she took one last glance at the red and white poster on the wall. These posters had been put up two days ago, announcing that there was to be a Christmas dance in Blue Moon Junior High that night at seven o' clock sharp, the doors, once again, opening at half six. She sighed through her nostrils.

Yes, Ash and Misty, though mostly Misty, wanted to go to that dance... and she was all for it herself... but one thing was still bothering her: if Drew went, she'd see him one last time before the vacation... and, horribly, it would be for _two and a half hours_... _three_ hours at the most... and things like "How are you, _Maybelle_?", "Are you dancing tonight, _Maybelle_?" and "Can I get you some punch, _Maybelle_?" would be all she'd be hearing from him all night...

_Please... just... shoot me now..._ she thought, utterly depressed.

She turned back to Ash and Misty and suddenly noticed that they were ahead of her. Panicking slightly, she sped up... and, once she was back beside them, she continued walking them to the school bus, which was their ride, and not hers, home.

* * *

Finally, it was half six and Ash, Misty and May approached the gym at Blue Moon Junior High, one of their teachers, who had opened the door for them, handing them red Christmas hats, which were lined with white cotton and also topped with a bobble of white cotton, as they did so. They voiced their thanks and entered.

Once in, May was awestruck at the decorations; there was a Christmas tree covered with different-coloured baubles and tinsel, topped with a golden star, in one corner of the room, chandeliers littered with candles hanging from the ceiling, dark blue wallpaper on all the walls - which was covered with glittering stars to represent a night sky, paper snowmen, paper Santa Clauses and paper baby Jesuses in cribs - tables, including, once again, a large snack table, with red tablecloths, which were lined with white frills, draped over them and, once again, four chairs to each table.

"Wow..." May said, "they sure know how to decorate for dances at this school..."

"No kidding," Misty replied.

"Come on!" Ash said. "Let's put our hats on!"

"Yeah," May agreed.

"Let's get a table and sit down first," Misty suggested.

The three friends moved together across the room until they found a suitable table, then sat themselves down on three of the seats, leaving the seat opposite May empty, since Ash had sat on her right and Misty had sat on her left. Each of them then placed their Christmas hats on the table and removed whatever accessory they had on their head or hair; May removed her red bandana and placed it on the table, Ash removed his red cap and placed it on the table and Misty removed her orange elastic band and placed it on the table, making her ginger hair fall down flat.

May couldn't help notice, as she picked up her own Christmas hat and placed it on her head, how Ash had taken the opportunity to stare gormlessly at Misty... and she tried hard not to laugh; he was always doing this... he seemed to notice Misty's beauty more whenever the red-head removed her side ponytail and let her hair down... which wasn't very often.

_It's a pity that Misty's never noticed, really..._ she thought, _otherwise, she'd no doubt have her hair down much more often..._

Misty frowned in Ash's direction. "What?"

Ash seemed to snap out of a trance. "Oh, uh... nothing," he replied, looking away.

_Well,_ May thought, _she notices well enough that he tends to stare at her... but doesn't seem to understand __**why**__ he stares at her._ She gave a light sigh through her nostrils.

* * *

Eventually, it was seven o'clock and the DJ began playing Rocking Around The Christmas Tree... and everyone that had been planning to arrive had arrived, each and every person wearing their own Christmas hat... including Drew, May noticed, who seemed to be skulking in the far corner, out of the way. She was perfectly fine with this, of course, but watched him like a hawk all the same; if he caught sight of her, it was very likely that he'd come waltzing over to their table... and she didn't want that.

To her left, Ash's leg moved and brushed against hers, causing an electric shock to shoot through her body. She inwardly cursed and shifted so that her leg was no longer anywhere near his; she didn't need this... she was trying her very best to keep any attraction she felt towards Ash away. It was for the greater good, after all... in order to give Misty a chance with him...

Misty gave her a look that clearly said, 'Uh... why are you moving away from Ash?', so May cleared her throat and busied herself with her bag; she unzipped it, pulled out a pile of Christmas cards and zipped it up again. She then pulled off the two cards at the top of the pile entitled 'Ash' and 'Misty'.

"Here you go, guys," she said, handing Ash and Misty their Christmas cards.

"Thanks," they both replied, beginning to open them.

"I'm gonna go hand these out. 'Scuse me, Misty." Misty stood up and moved out of the way, enabling May to leave the table. "See you guys later."

"See ya."

Travelling round the room, May handed Christmas cards to practically everyone, having made so many friends in her four months of being in Blue Moon Junior High. She even handed cards to older students that she had gotten to know through Ash and Misty.

"Yeah!" Casey yelled in jubilation, waving her opened card around and nearly smacking her boyfriend in the face with it. "Thanks, May!"

"Yeah, thanks..." Giorgio said, his own opened card in his hands, "and thanks for cheering Casey up, too; she wasn't too happy about having to wear the Christmas hat. She doesn't like how it mismatches the _rest_ of her outfit."

May chuckled. "No problem," she replied.

She even gave a card to Sakura, as well as five cards to pass on to her boyfriend and sisters, a card to Brianna, whom she was glad hadn't found out about the fact that Drew hadn't given her just _one_ rose, but _three_, and cards to other fellow classmates, such as Kelly, Timmy and the happy couple of Joshua and Erica.

Once she was done, she walked back to her table and asked Ash and Misty to dance. They looked at each other, smiled, looked back and her and said okay.

* * *

It was now half past seven and May was rather tired of dancing, so, leaving Ash and Misty on the dance floor with each other, she decided to get herself some punch at the snack table. Walking over, she grabbed a glass and, pulling the ladle from the bowl, poured herself some fruit juice, which was blood red in colour. Once she'd filled her glass with the desired amount, she replaced the ladle, leaned against the table and began to drink.

It was a few moments later when she heard, "Hey," from right next to her.

Halting her drinking, she turned to see Drew stood next to her, also leaning on the snack table. She sighed into the glass before lowering it.

"Hi, Drew," she replied.

He gave his hair a neat little flip. "Enjoying the dance so far?"

"Yes, thanks."

"That's good to hear."

"... Are _you_?"

"Yeah, it's okay."

_Hmph..._ May thought, _if he thinks for one __**second**__ that the nice guy act is gonna work on me a __**second**__ time, then he's got another thing coming._

"Santa, baby..." the singer on the CD sang, "slip a sable under the tree... for me. I've been an awful good girl, Santa, baby... so hurry down the chimney tonight."

"So... what can I help you with?"

Drew shrugged. "Oh, nothing much, really," he replied.

Her eyes drifted down to his right hand, which was hidden behind his back. Suspicion hit her; what could he be hiding? It couldn't be good, whatever it was... not after the last experience she went through with him... then she stopped and gave the situation some thought; was there anything to be suspicious _of_? Could he just be _comfortable_ standing like that?

She decided to be polite. "Where are your fangirls?"

"I told them to get lost; I can't be bothered with them tonight."

May smirked. "When can you _ever_ be bothered with them?"

Drew smirked back. "Good point."

May dropped her smirk. "But, seriously, what do think of _Brianna_? I mean, she really seems to like you. You think you could give her a chance?"

Drew also dropped his smirk. "Which one's that, again?"

May rolled her eyes. "You're hopeless, you know that?"

Drew chuckled. "Well, so many girls like me, it's hard to keep track of which one's which."

"I guess that's why you have no problems with _me_, then."

Drew smirked again. "Hmm? You saying you don't like me?"

May's face flushed. "Um..." The answer was no, but she just wasn't cruel enough to say it... so, instead, she went back to sipping her fruit juice while avoiding his eyes.

Drew chuckled again. "Can't really blame you, I suppose... Here."

May was so shocked by the feel of him grabbing hold of her wrist that she very nearly spat her fruit juice back into the glass. He then thrust something thin into her hand - which she could only just feel through her glove - let go of her wrist, muttered, "See ya..." and walked off.

She lowered her glass and lifted up the object, looking at it; it was a Christmas card... with a red rose sellotaped by the stem to the part where a name was usually written. She stared at it for a moment before putting down her glass, turning the envelope over in both hands, opening it and pulling out the card. She gave a light gasp; it was a beautiful picture of a robin wearing a Christmas hat, perched on a branch covered in snow, a beautiful view of a village also covered in snow in the distance behind it... and the whole picture was coated in glitter.

Awestruck at the beauty of the card, May decided to open it; it read:-

_To May,_

_Merry Christmas_

_From Drew x_

May's mouth dropped opened and her eyes widened. _'May'?_ she thought, utterly gobsmacked. _**May**?_ She stared at it in disbelief. _Not 'Girl In Red'? Or 'Little Miss No Name'? Or 'Red'? Or 'Bloodbath'? Or 'Miss Colour Clash On Legs'? Or 'Old Bag'? Or 'Bloody Mary'? Or 'Vampy'? Or 'Melissa'? Or even the dreaded 'Maybelle' that he's been calling me all week?_

She couldn't remove her eyes from it, even if she were to try; he was actually calling her 'May'... '_May_'... the only name she actually _liked_ to be called... and she couldn't believe it. Why? What reason on Earth possessed him to finally call her by the name she liked?

She glanced up to look at him, but found that he had disappeared. She scanned her eyes over the entire crowd, searching for some sign of floppy lime green hair... but no hair matched that description; there were only darker shades of green, like A.J.'s and Joshua's...

She glanced back down at the inscription on the card, making absolute sure that she had not read incorrectly... not made some kind of mistake in her desperation not to be called 'Maybelle'... yet the same word stared back at her: 'May'.

Her face tinted slightly; this was unbelievably sweet, she realised... because it showed that he really _did_ care, very deep down, about what she did, and didn't, like to be called.

_But what if it's another trap?_ a distant thought asked. _What if he's trying to worm his way into getting you to like him again? Only, this time, he's doing it through the use of a beloved nickname?_

She really wasn't sure... but what she _was_ sure of was that, the longer she stared at the words inside the card... the word 'May', the words 'Merry Christmas', which he'd written himself, the words 'From Drew' and the 'x' on the end... the... closer she felt to Drew... She felt... she felt...

She swallowed, refusing to take her eyes off the card. _I don't know if I can bear to think it... I mean, it's just so... creepy... yet..._

She folded up the card, replaced it inside its envelope and placed it on the snack table, leaning heavily on said table and sighing. Was this his plan? To hit her emotions so hard with the use of her nickname that she... would... feel like _this_ towards him?

She shook her head; no, she hated him. She stopped; no, she didn't hate him... she disliked him... but she liked him the day they were chatting comfortably, didn't she? But then... that was the day that he'd tricked her... so, no, she didn't like him _anymore_... but then... how could she be feeling like _this_ towards him?

Feeling a headache coming on, she tried to calm herself. Okay, what, exactly, was it that she was feeling? She concentrated with all her might on picturing Drew's face... Drew smirking tauntingly at her... and Drew flipping his gorgeous green hair... and the words of the card floated past her mind as she pictured these things.

Her mouth dropped open slightly and her eyes widened in horror; this was the same way she'd felt towards Ash after the day she'd hugged him to calm down his crying about poor Rex... No way...

_I... __**like**__ Drew now?_ she thought in shock. _As in... __**like-like**__ him?_

She glanced over at Ash and Misty, who were walking side-by-side, laughing together about something, and heading back towards their table. What on Earth would they say if she dared to tell either of them this?

Misty would probably screech, "You _what_? You can't be _serious_!" and Ash would probably place a hand on her forehead and say, "Hmm... maybe you have a fever or something..."

_How could I have a..._ She had to force the words to come forth; it was hard work. _A __**crush**__... on __**Drew**?_ She shuddered. _He's always treating me like dirt... and we're... well, we're... well, we __**could**__ be classed as __**rivals**__ if there was anything to rival him __**in**__... although we do have our banter sessions; I'm always trying to beat him in __**those**._

Picking up her card, she unzipped her bag, hid the card inside it and zipped it back up before picking up her fruit juice and walking back over to her table, where Ash and Misty were now sitting. Ash was telling Misty something so animatedly that his arms were flying in all directions.

"Hey, May," Misty said as May sat down.

"Hey," May replied.

"So, how are _you_?" Ash asked.

May shrugged. "Eh... I'm okay. How are _you_ two?"

Misty beamed. "Great," she replied.

"We've been trying a different type of dance," Ash said, blushing slightly.

"Yeah?" May asked.

"Yeah..." Misty replied, glaring slightly at Ash; apparently, she hadn't wanted him to say anything. "We tried dancing professionally... y'know, like they do in ballrooms..."

May tried not to snigger; oh, if only she could've seen that... one person's left hand joined with the other person's right... Ash's hand around Misty's waist and Misty's hand on Ash's shoulder... Suddenly, she was reminded of the Halloween dance and the desire to snigger stopped immediately.

"It was totally Misty's idea..." Ash said, looking rather embarrassed.

Misty blushed slightly. "Yeah, but that's just 'cause I've never tried it before... and it's not like Ash refused..."

"Yeah, but... uh..."

She turned to face him. "You enjoyed it, didn't you?"

"Yeah..."

"I mean, that _is_ what you were laughing so heartily about just a minute ago, wasn't it?"

"Yeah... it _is_... aheh... but..."

Misty rolled her eyes. "I know... 'it's hardly manly to dance like that'..."

Suddenly, silence fell between them, Ash smiling weakly before taking a sudden interest in someone eating cake at the snack table, and May could hear the lyrics of the song that was being played more clearly.

"Saaanta Claus is coming to town!" the singer on the CD sang. "Saaanta Claus is coming to town! Santa Claus is coming... to towwwn!"

Now that the three of them were no longer speaking, May was free to let her mind wander. She scanned the crowd of students dancing, eating, drinking and socialising again; she still wanted to find Drew, but her eyes still didn't pick up any trace of lime green hair... which told her, once again, that he wasn't there... unless he _was_ there and she just couldn't see him...

She sighed through her nostrils; so she had a crush on him now, did she? Well, that was just one more thing to add to the ever-growing list of problems in her life... She didn't dare ask herself what _else_ could possibly go wrong...


	24. Shopping, Snowballs and Something Extra

Author's note: Sorry... Lol... Been procrastinating... Heh... I know I shouldn't, but writing this story ain't exactly a piece of cake. Plus, I'm a very lazy person. XD Put the two together and what have you got? Slow updates. :P

Finally, I own the surname Gardener (well, in the case of this fic, I do. Lol) and yay! I have the Internet back at home! Though this chapter was _still_ pretty hard to write...

**Chapter Twenty-four: Shopping, Snowballs and Something Extra**

Just under a week after the Christmas dance at Blue Moon Junior High, Ash, Misty, May and Max had decided to go Christmas shopping together and gather up the remainder of their Christmas presents. They'd already bought each other's, so all they had left to do was to buy their families'.

They'd thought this would a simple enough task... but, as it turned out, the weather had decided not to be kind to them that day; a freak snowstorm had hit the city the night before, so, now, everywhere people looked, there was two feet of snow on the ground. Not to mention it was _still_ snowing... and fairly heavily at that.

Ash and Max had wanted to abort the shopping trip and save it for when the snow melted away, but Misty and May were dead-set against the idea; they knew that the snow would be staying there for a few days... and wanted to get their shopping done _now_, so that they wouldn't have to get caught up in the last-minute Christmas chaos... so, wearing their snow gear that they only saved for days like this, the four friends had trudged out of May and Max's house, which they had agreed would be their meeting point, into the bitter cold afternoon air, crunching through fresh snow, and being rained down upon by even fresher snow.

Back when each of them had _bought_ their snow gear, they had decided to go for a different colour than what they usually wore... so, currently, Ash was wearing a green winter coat, Misty was wearing a pink winter coat, May was wearing a purple winter coat and Max was wearing a blue winter coat, the lighter shade not clashing with his hair. To top it all off, each person was also wearing thick black gloves and black wellington boots.

When they finally made it to the shopping centre, they began to look around for suitable shops to buy presents for their families. When Misty suddenly spotted a shop she thought was cute, she ducked inside it, the other three following.

Ash pulled down his green hood, revealing his black and, for once, hatless hair. "I don't see why we can't have a snowball fight," he grumbled. "I mean, it's the first time it's snowed for a long time and we can't play in it?"

"Ash," Misty said irritably as she, May and Max also pulled down their hoods, revealing, in Misty's case, no side ponytail and, in May's case, no red bandana, "we came out to buy Christmas presents, not throw chunks of ice and snow at each other."

"I agree with Misty," Max said.

Misty beamed at him, happy that someone was agreeing with her. "Thank you."

"You're such a spoil-sport, Max," May said, brushing snow off her shoulder.

"I'm surprised _you_ wanna have a snowball fight too... considering the snowball Ash threw before hit _you_."

May smiled sweetly. "Yeah, 'cause _I_ know how to have _fun_."

Misty rolled her eyes; there was May, siding with Ash again. It was almost like they were twins at times, they were so alike...

"What do you think I should get my sisters?" she asked, putting an instant end to the sour look Max was throwing his older sister.

The other three shrugged and said, "Dunno" one after the other.

Misty sighed; this was going to take a while... Sure, she knew her sisters very well... but still... they were harder to buy presents for than _anyone_... mainly because, since they were so ridiculously beautiful... and talented... and perfect... that not a lot of things were good enough for them.

"We'd best get looking, then..."

* * *

Ten minutes of shopping and present-buying later, all the while trudging through snow... Ash and May pulling their faces because they weren't able to play in it... the topic of Drew came out of May's mouth from under her purple hood. Of course, everyone had already been informed some time ago about him giving her a Christmas card with a nice note inside _and_ a rose... but what they _didn't_ know was what she was now telling them.

"You know," she said, "I feel bad. I never got Drew a Christmas card."

"Well," Misty replied, "it's not like any of _us_ expected _him_ to get _you_ one."

May sighed. "I know... but I still feel bad. He got me a card _and_ a rose... and _I_ got _him nothing_."

"Hey," Ash said, "come on, May; it's obvious you didn't get him anything 'cause you don't like him."

"And you didn't think he'd be nice enough to get _you_ anything..." Misty added, "and quite rightly after what _happened_ between you two before."

May sighed again... before silence fell upon the quartet... then, suddenly, a huge gust combining wind and snow picked up, blowing a few people in the shopping centre off balance. Max tumbled backwards and crashed into May, who miraculously managed to stay upright, while Ash also tumbled backwards and crashed in a passerby, who shrieked and fell over, landing in the snow.

"Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry!" Ash said to the person, who looked up and smiled.

"It's okay," the person said, chuckling, before being helped up by Ash.

Misty took a look at this person and recognised her as a girl... though her sense of style might have said otherwise if not for the very feminine eyes; her hair, lilac in colour and perfectly matching her lilac eyes, was swirled up on her head in a slightly masculine style... and she was wearing a hoodless black winter coat - which meant that her hair was coated in snowflakes - black gloves and black wellington boots.

Ash chuckled. "Lost control there for a second."

The girl also chuckled. "It's no problem... _really_."

"You shopping for Christmas presents too?" May asked.

"Yep," the girl answered, "but I can't decide what to buy my mom."

Max chuckled. "Maybe you should just buy her perfume," he suggested. "I mean, women _love_ perfume, right?"

"Nah," the girl replied, "she has enough perfume as it is."

"Heh..." Ash said to the girl, "girls, huh? So hard to buy for. Why can't they just like the stuff _we_ like?"

Misty frowned; why was this conversation sounding so... weird? Ash seemed to be addressing the girl as if she were a boy...

"Hey!" May protested. "Boys happen to be _much_ harder to buy for than girls!"

"I agree," the girl said.

"Wha-?" Max asked. "You're agreeing with a _girl_ on this matter? Why would you do _that_?"

"Well... maybe because I _am_ a girl."

"_Huh_?" Ash, May and Max all asked at once, their mouths dropping open.

If Misty could've sweat-dropped, like in Japanese anime, she would've done. _You're kidding me..._ she thought. _All this time, they thought she was a boy? _She looked at the girl's expression and saw nothing but a placid smile. _And she doesn't mind? If it were me, I'd have ripped open all their throats by now._

"Yeah," the girl replied, "my name's Anabel."

"Oh..." Ash said bashfully, rubbing the back of his neck, "sorry."

Each of them then proceeded to introduce themselves, Ash first, then May, then Max, then Misty.

"So... um..." May said, "wanna come shopping with us, Anabel? As our way of apologising for...?"

"Thinking I was a boy?" Anabel asked, still smiling... which a bewildered Misty _still_ couldn't understand. "Sure... I'd love to."

* * *

It was a while later and, although Misty had _started out_ liking Anabel Gardener - she'd eventually told them her surname, just as they had all told her theirs - she was starting to change her mind about her. It had started when Ash had thrown a snowball at the red-head... who had gotten rather ticked off at him... and Anabel had laughed and complimented him on his aiming. After that, their friendship had taken off like a NASA rocket launching into space. Once getting to know each other, they'd discovered that not only did they have a lot in common, but, even worse, they seemed to get along like flowers and sunshine... meaning any interaction between them was peaceful and serene... whereas _herself_ and Ash tended, most days, to get along like magma and gastric pressure... meaning any interaction between them was like a volcanic eruption.

Currently, Ash and Anabel were having their own private little snowball fight, giggling like infants as they threw countless snowballs at one another. May and Max were laughing along as they watched the apparently amusing scene, but Misty eyed Anabel warily; the Red Star Junior High student - which was what Anabel had told them all she was - was getting far too comfortable with Ash for her liking.

Anabel giggled heartily as another snowball smacked her on the arm. "Hey!" she said, scooping up a lump of snow and moulding it into a snowball. "No fair!" She threw the snowball at Ash's head, but it missed its target.

Ash laughed. "Missed me!" he yelled, throwing one back at her.

Anabel dodged just in the nick of time. "And so did _you_!"

_Why can't he have this much fun with __**me**?_ Misty thought. She frowned slightly and looked down at the floor, a feeling of sadness tugging at her heartstrings. _Oh, who am I kidding? I'm too horrible to him for __**that**__ to ever happen... Maybe if I was nicer to him, things wouldn't always be so... __**tense**__ between us..._ She glanced up in time to see a snowball pummel Ash in the head.

Ash laughed again. "You little sneak!" he yelled.

"Guys," May said, giggling, "I know you're having fun, but I still need to find a present for my dad."

Ash dropped the snowball he'd just picked up, sulking. "Oh, okay..."

* * *

As the group of two boys and three girls left yet another store together, Misty having finally bought her older sisters, Daisy, Violet and Lily, the perfect presents, they noticed that it was continuing to snow.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Anabel asked. "The snow, I mean."

"Yeah," Ash replied.

"Wanna go for a race through it?"

Ash looked at her with a slightly puzzled expression on his face. "Huh?"

Anabel giggled. "I said... you wanna race?"

"Uh..." He grinned. "Okay!" He grabbed her hand with his own. "Come on!" He took off running, Anabel at his side, laughing.

"You know, when I said 'race', I didn't mean-"

"I'm allowed to bend the rules a little, aren't I?"

After that, Misty couldn't hear any more of what they were saying, but she still felt very uncomfortable; it looked very much like Ash was warming up to Anabel _way_ too fast... and she wasn't liking it.

Max chuckled. "I don't think I've ever _seen_ Ash looking so happy," he said.

Misty looked over at Ash and Anabel, who had both stopped running and were back to throwing snowballs at one another, and saw that Ash was beaming. His face was lit up like she'd never seen it before... and the sight caused a small stab to the heart.

As May and Max took off towards the duo, Misty followed and, as they approached, they saw that Ash had now stopped beaming and was looking from Anabel, who was smiling, to the snowball in his hand and back again with a baffled expression on his face.

"You think... snow can sing?" he asked.

"Mmm hmm," Anabel replied. "Can't you _hear_ it? It's _delighted_ to be so _beautiful_."

Ash blinked stupidly at her and looked back down at the snow. "Uh..."

Misty copied his action. _Huh..._ she thought, _well, I see nothing but... snow... What's she talking about?_

Ash looked back and Anabel and chuckled. "Sorry, but it just looks like snow to _me_." Anabel giggled in response.

Looking up at Anabel, Misty noticed something strange... and it was something she wasn't at all happy about: the lilac-haired girl was looking at Ash adoringly... as if he'd just rescued her from a burning building or something... and realisation hit Misty with the force of a ton of bricks falling to the ground; she liked him... as in _like_-liked him... Anabel Gardener _like_-liked Ash Ketchum...

She was suddenly overcome with rage. _Why, that little-!_ she thought. _She'd better not even __**think**__ of grabbing __**my**__ Ash for herself! I'll tear her throat out if she even __**tries**!_ She then saw Ash throw the snowball he'd been holding at Anabel and laugh... and, suddenly, the rage melted into sorrow. _But... Ash seems so much __**happier**__ with her..._ She gave a silent sigh through her nostrils, not wanting either May or Max to hear. _I really wish I'd been nicer to him during our time as friends... maybe I'd have stood a better chance with him..._ Anabel threw a snowball back at Ash. _Oh, why did I always have to pick fights with him? Even, like, five days ago, I started an argument with him because I thought __**he**__ was the one who'd thrown a piece of scrunched-up paper at me in the corridor... Turns out I was wrong... and he was just passing by when it happened... Why does my temper have to get the better of me?_

She thought back to her childhood days... and remembered how she'd felt having three amazingly glamorous sisters who were both older than her and had hair and bodies that could usually only be found on shampoo commercials... She'd felt so very jealous... and, growing up and only receiving hand-me-downs that were, worst-case scenario, fourth-hand, she'd become a very irritable person, occasionally reaching the point where she'd hate their guts for being better than her. They even used to pick on her sometimes for being the 'runt' of the family, as not even in her wildest dreams could she ever hope to be as beautiful as they were. This, of course, affected her relationship with Ash; every time he'd do something stupid, she'd berate, insult and even belittle him in her attempt to claim dominance, just so that, for once, _she_ could feel the more powerful... and, since he seemed to have been _born_ stupid, this happened quite a lot.

* * *

Finally, everyone had bought their families the perfect Christmas presents and it was time to separate. Misty was happy that she'd at last be rid of Anabel, but was slightly worried that Ash might be feeling sad. His expression, however, gave nothing away, as all she could see on his face as he shook Anabel's hand and said goodbye was a pleasant smile. Anabel's expression gave nothing away, either; she was also just smiling pleasantly.

In turn, each of them either said "Bye, Anabel" or "Bye" before she said her farewells back to them. The group of four friends then turned and walked away. Glancing back round at Anabel, however, Misty noticed that the girl was blushing and holding the hand that Ash had shaken with her _other_ hand. Trying to ignore her aching heart, she forced herself to look away.

May groaned. "I never got to have a snowball fight..." she said.

"Yeah," Max agreed, smirking, "'cause Ash was too busy with Anabel."

"Hey," Ash defended, "she's a nice girl."

"That you thought was a boy..."

"We _all_ thought she was a boy," May said.

Ash shrugged. "Hey, it was an easy mistake... right, Misty?"

"Huh?" Misty asked. "Oh... yeah..."

Suddenly, as if by magic, the cogs turned in Misty's head; in order to have any chance at all with Ash, she'd need to be a much nicer person from now on... so that's what she was determined to do... though she'd need to make an effort, starting now. Walking past a shop window, she first made sure that no one in her group was watching, then scooped up a handful of snow and moulded it into a snowball.

May sighed. "I just wish I could've had a snowball fight..." she said miserably. "They're probably gonna shovel all the snow _away_ in a few days..." Misty threw the snowball and it smacked into May's shoulder; May spun around, startled. "Wha-? Huh?"

Misty laughed, scooping up more snow. "You want a snowball fight? _I'll_ give you a snowball fight!"

May smiled brightly before her face shone with determination. "You're on!" She scooped up some snow and ran towards Misty with it.

"But..." Max said, clearly confused, "Misty... you were the one who said..."

"Hey, don't start without _me_!" Ash said, also scooping up some snow and rushing forward with it.

After Misty was smacked by two snowballs, one after the other, she looked over at Max and noticed him staring at his three older friends for a moment, clearly dumbfounded, before shrugging, scooping up some snow and joining in the snowball fight.


	25. A Midnight Impulse

Author's note: Hey. Well, I may be back at college now, but I'm still gonna be doling out chapters. Plus:-

1) I never thought to say it before, but... a big thank you to every single reviewer for making this story so popular. You're fabulous, all of you.

2) If you see horrible grammar mistakes, like missing question marks/ellipses, it's most likely not my fault. The site keeps deleting things.

3) I own Jason and Penelope Waterflower.

4) This chapter was considerably hard to write. Maybe you can see at what point it started to get hard? Lol.

**Chapter Twenty-five: A Midnight Impulse**

It was under two weeks after Ash, Misty and May had encountered Anabel and gone Christmas shopping with her - May complaining all the while at the time about how boring shopping in their area was and how she'd love to travel other places around the globe and shop there, thus bringing up the usual complaining about how their world wasn't like the Pokemon world - it was now New Year's Eve. Everyone, which meant Delia Ketchum, Ash Ketchum, Norman Styles, Caroline Styles, May Styles and Max Styles, was gathered at Misty Waterflower's house for a party, Misty's parents, Jason and Penelope, being the gracious hosts of everyone present.

"Would anyone like anything to drink?" Jason asked, scratching the scalp beneath his short, messy dark blue hair, his matching dark blue eyes scanning the group of people sitting on the couch, armchairs and extra wooden chairs around the room.

A few of them said, "Yes, please", causing Penelope to leap up from her wooden chair, her long, curly pink hair, which shined beneath the ceiling lamp, falling over her shoulders. "I'll go get some!" she said perkily. Her greenish-blue eyes looked around the room. "What would everyone like?"

"Coffee, please," Delia, Norman and Caroline each said in turn.

"Coffee, please, dear," Jason said.

"Yeah, I'll have a coffee too," Penelope said, smiling cheekily. She then turned to Ash, Misty, May and Max. "Kids?"

"Coke, please," Ash replied.

"Lemonade, please," Misty replied.

"Coke, please," May replied.

"Coke, please," Max replied.

"Okay," Penelope said. She then walked over to the living room door and peered into the next room. "Girls? Drinks?"

"Like, lemonade, totally!" Daisy's voice replied.

"I'll, like, have a coke, for sure!" Violet's voice replied.

"And I'll, like, totally have a lemonade!" Lily's voice replied.

"Got it," Penelope said, "five coffees, four cokes and three lemonades." She bustled off towards the kitchen. "Be back in a jiff!"

"Coffee?" Violet's voice asked. "Ugh! Gag me with a spoon!"

* * *

After a while, Jason decided to get the party _really_ started, so on went the music; it turned out to be mostly rock and roll music from the seventies, cranked up to very loud levels. Granted, it wasn't full blast, but it was still loud. As for Ash, he was feeling slightly too warm for his liking, possibly due to the fact that there were twelve people all crammed into one house, so he decided to go outside onto the patio for a short while; the late December air was sure to cool him down in no time.

As he leaned his folded arms against the light brown wooden frame of the patio, looking out onto the Waterflower family's beautiful garden of green grass - which was lined around the edges with an array of different-coloured flowers that Misty had told him were roses, petunias, hydrangeas and gardenias - he thought back to what May had said happened at her house on Christmas Day; apparently, Molly Hale and her parents, Spencer and Margaret, had come to visit, Spencer carrying a small box full of mistletoe. This, May had explained, was because, since the Styles' had had no mistletoe to hang on their tree, the Hales had decided to lend them some.

Thinking about what May had said happened next made Ash chuckle to himself; she'd said that she'd grabbed a mistletoe from the box and dangled it over Max's head, telling Molly to come over and give him a kiss. Max had blushed furiously and tried to get away, but Molly had tackled him and given him a kiss on the cheek anyway.

"Hey, Ash?" Misty's voice asked from the doorway.

Ash turned to face her. "Yeah, Mist?" he asked.

"You coming back inside? My dad's about to set the buffet."

Ash perked up. _Food?_ he thought, his stomach growling, erasing all other thoughts from his mind. _Awesome!_ He grinned. "Alright! Count me in!"

Misty smiled warmly at him, yet not neglecting to roll her eyes at his great love of food, he noticed, and led him back inside.

* * *

Once Ash had devoured as much of the buffet as he could, yet being sure to leave some for the other eleven people in the house, he went back outside. He wasn't really sure why, but he liked it outside; it was beautiful, peaceful and serene... and he rather felt like a bubble of silence had blanketed him once he stepped onto the patio, as all of the noise and commotion inside was quieted considerably.

As he stood there with the nice cool breeze caressing his skin and blowing his jet black hair, his thoughts drifted to Anabel Gardener; she was such a nice girl... and such a nice change from what he now considered the norm. True, his life was already pretty good, but it was just nice to have someone appreciate him as much as Anabel had; Misty, love her though he may have done, was always shouting at him for something or other, sometimes making him feel two inches tall with her words... and May and Max were his close friends, but they didn't seem to connect with him on the same level Misty did. When Anabel had come along that day, he'd felt special; he'd both a) been highly appreciated, having most of her attention directed his way, and b) not once all day been shouted at. Even the red-headed demon herself hadn't been nasty to him... though he still wasn't sure why Anabel had been so nice to him and just about ignored everyone else in the group... He shrugged to himself; understanding females just wasn't his forte.

"Hey, Ash," Misty's voice said. Ash turned round to meet her eyes and noticed her smirking. "You out here _again_?"

Ash chuckled. "Yeah," he replied.

Misty walked over and stood on his right, folding her arms and leaning them on the patio's wooden frame. "So, why's that, then?"

Ash shrugged, looking back out over the garden. "I just like it out here." He paused. "What are May and Max doing?"

"They said they'd be out here too after they've finished eating."

"Oh, okay."

Silence fell between them... and, after watching a sparrow land on the nearby fence, then fly off again, Ash glanced over at Misty; her ginger hair, fastened in its customary side ponytail, was swaying gently in the cool breeze... and a single section of her face was illuminated by the light in the living room, giving her face a rather godly glow. A smile graced Ash's face as he watched her.

She seemed to catch sight of him from the corner of her eye. "Hmm?" She turned to face him. "Something wrong?"

He felt his cheeks tint, so he turned away again. "No."

"Hey, guys!" May's voice said from the doorway before her footsteps approached them. Standing on Ash's left, she copied his and Misty's stance. "What'd I miss?"

Ash continued to stare ahead of him. "Not much." He then glanced over at May and saw Max on her left, also copying everyone's present stance.

"Eh," the young boy said, smirking, "how boring."

Ash chuckled slightly.

* * *

After a while, Ash, Misty, May and Max's conversation of random topics died off, so Ash racked his brain for something else to say. Eventually, after much thought, he came up with something related to New Year's.

"So..." he said, "anyone got a New Year's resolution?"

"Hmm..." May replied, "not sure."

"Me neither," Max replied.

"I am," Misty muttered. Ash looked at her; she was staring ahead of her, refusing to make eye contact with him. "I'm gonna try to be a nicer person."

Ash's eyes widened. _A nicer person?_ he thought. _Really?_

"Aww..." May said, her voice dripping with sugar, "how sweet..." She paused. "Hmm... then maybe _I_ should think of one."

"What's _yours_, Ash?" Max asked.

Ash paused a moment, once again facing the garden, yet taking a second to glance at Misty from the corner of his eye. "Not sure," he lied.

In actual fact, he knew very well what he wanted as his New Year's resolution: to gather up more courage and make a move on Misty. Unfortunately, he also knew that he had no clue of how to handle the situation, as romance was never one of his strong points.

May giggled. "Well, I think it should be to eat less," she said.

Misty and Max laughed at this... and Ash's mouth couldn't help but curl up at the comment; yeah... maybe he _did_ like to go overboard just a _little_ bit when it came to food...

* * *

Eventually, Max had gotten fed up of standing outside in the cold and had gone back inside to the loud music and incessant chattering. May, being the caring older sister she was – or mother hen, as Misty had called her – had gone inside after him, not wanting him to get lonely by himself, since, without her, he'd be the only preteen in the entire building. Ash, however, had wanted to stay outside a little longer, so Misty had opted to stay with him.

"Won't be long now," Ash said.

"Yeah..." Misty replied, "it'll be the New Year soon."

"Uh huh... and then the fireworks'll start going off."

"Yep."

There were a few moments of silence. Ash looked at Misty and saw, by the way she quickly jerked her head away and stared at the floor, that she'd been watching him. Her face also bore a slightly miserable expression.

"Something wrong?"

Misty looked up at him. "Hmm?" Her cheeks tinted. "No."

"Guys!" May's voice called out from inside. "They're about to do the countdown on TV!"

Misty's face relaxed into a smile. "Wanna go back inside?"

Ash shook his head. "Nah," he replied. "We'll get a better view of the fireworks here, anyway."

Misty chuckled in response.

"Ten!" everyone inside shouted. "Nine! Eight! Seven! Six! Five! Four! Three! Two! One! Happy New Year!"

Off went the different-coloured fireworks, exploding in every direction around the house; there were blue ones, green ones, red ones, purple ones and yellow ones... and the house down the street, which had owners who were well known for being pretty well-off, sent off a dazzling display of many different colours all meshed together in their many explosions. Ash looked at Misty, caught her eye and smiled... and she smiled back.

"Happy New Year, Ash," she said.

"Happy New Year, Misty," he replied.

It was in that moment, watching the fireworks exploding in the sky illuminating her face in many different colours... and keeping in mind that it was now midnight... he had... the strangest urge... to do something that he'd never considered doing before...

Not fully comprehending his actions, he slid very slowly across the patio's wooden frame towards her, the entirety of his attention focused on her lips. He'd never experienced this before... this sudden... _need_ for her... this sudden... need to kiss her...

She looked back at the fireworks, seemingly oblivious to what he was doing. He was fine with this; she'd probably hit him if... His trail of thought drifted away; now was not the time to think about that.

He slid a little closer. She glanced back at him and he stopped, turning away and pretending to watch the fireworks. As soon as the corner of his eye saw that her head had turned away again, he looked back at her; there was that feeling again... that _need_; it was driving him crazy.

Again, he slid closer, trying not to attract her attention too much. He let his eyes wander around the garden, hoping that she'd either think nothing of his actions or believe that it was all in her head.

He looked back at her again... and again came the desire... the _impulse_... to kiss her... Why the heck was this happening to him? Why the heck was he feeling this? He'd never felt this _before_... It felt... pleasant, yet... painful at the same time... as though... the thought of kissing her was pleasant... but the thought of how she'd react was painful...

He slid closer, his right arm now brushing her left arm. She glanced over at him questioningly and he averted his eyes again, looking elsewhere. After a few moments, he looked back and saw that she'd looked away again.

Darn, this was hard... but he was determined to kiss her. He didn't know why, and, right now, he didn't really _care_ why... he just wanted to get this over with. He slid even closer, his arm now actually pressing against hers, and, again, she looked at him questioningly. He was expecting her to have said something by now... maybe something along the lines of, 'Uh... what are you doing?' but she said nothing... absolutely nothing.

Instead, she just stared at him, clearly confused; perhaps _so_ confused that her brain had gone on meltdown, which would certainly explain why she hadn't said anything yet.

Smiling slightly, yet not without a hint of suspicion glinting in her greenish-blue eyes, the red-head looked away again... and Ash admired how beautiful she looked in the glow of the fireworks. That wasn't to say that he didn't think she was beautiful normally, but, somehow, tonight was different.

He watched her, her ginger locks blowing in the still-gentle breeze... and realised that he never felt any impulses around her when May was around... or Max, for that matter... maybe because their presence distracted him enough for him not to think about his feelings for the red-head too much. He was only now realising that his feelings for her were stronger when neither May nor Max were around... because that meant that all his attention was focused on her and only her.

He leaned his face a little closer, thanking whoever was granting him such good fortune that she was now looking in the opposite direction; he was determined not to mess this up... more determined than he'd get about trekking through Victory Road in his Pokemon games, to reach the other side and get to the Pokemon League.

Her head twitched in his direction, causing his breathing to cease momentarily. However, she seemed to change her mind midway and turned her head back again. He let out a silent exhale through his nostrils and leaned closer still.

He attempted to speak, to get her attention, but found that his mouth had gone dry... and that no words would escape said mouth... so, instead, he raised his right hand ever-so slowly, tentatively bringing it up to her left shoulder. He then lightly tapped said shoulder once and held his breath again, dropping his hand back down to his side.

She turned to face him and, suddenly noticing how close his face had gotten to hers, widened her eyes in shock, her face tinting slightly. She opened her mouth, apparently to say something, maybe ask what he was doing, but it seemed that she could no longer speak either.

For a couple of moments, neither said a single word, merely staring at one another, both faces slightly red... then Ash leaned forward a tiny bit more. Needless to say, Misty looked shocked out of her mind... possibly too shocked to move; she did nothing but stare at him, wide-eyed as he brought his face so close, they were mere inches apart.

"Guys!" May's voice called out.

Ash jumped in fright and, the next moment, his forehead smacked painfully into Misty's. He turned away, clenched his eyes shut, gritted his teeth and clasped his sore forehead with his hand.

"Oww..." Misty grumbled, voicing his very thoughts at that moment.

There was a moment's silence. "Uh... why did you two just headbutt each other?"

Ash ignored her and, apparently, since May was greeted with silence, so did Misty.

"They did _what_?" Max's voice asked.

"Headbutted each other..."

Max laughed. "O-kay... and why would they do _that_?"

"... That's what _I_ wanna know..."

"I mean, I know they love to fight, but isn't that a little extreme?"

"Yeah... but, anyway... all the grown-ups are out front, watching the fireworks... You guys coming? We can all go and watch them together..."

"Meh..." Misty seemed to grunt.

Thoroughly embarrassed, with his face the colour of a ripe tomato, Ash looked away, leaning his right elbow on the patio's wooden frame and resting the right side of his chin on the clenched fist belonging to the arm of said elbow; mortified, he simply refused to look anyone in the eye right now.

_Way to kill the mood, May..._ he thought, far too embarrassed about the situation to be miserable that his one chance at kissing Misty had been thwarted.


	26. The Day's Just Full of Surprises

Author's notes: Hey. You're probably asking, "Why didn't you update sooner, ravengal?", aren't you? Lol. Well, the answer to that is... writer's block. Nasty little so-and-so, it is. Now, follow that up with laziness once the writer's block has cleared... and follow _that_ up with obsessions with countless other things and what do you get? No updating. Lol.

**Chapter Twenty-six: The Day's Just Full of Surprises**

It was a couple of days after the New Year's Day celebration... the time in which May had spent keeping her younger brother, Max, company inside the Waterflower family's household while Ash had, unbeknownst to everyone besides himself, had attempted to kiss Misty in the heat of the moment, yet ended up head-butting her instead... and it was the first Tuesday back at school.

May was particularly excited today, as she would not be ten years old very much longer; her eleventh birthday was only slightly over a week away, for which she planned to have a huge party... though would only keep it between herself and her closest friends and family; it was now a tradition among their little group of friends to do that.

As she made her way to her locker that morning to pick up her Math book... as she had Sewing and Math first thing that day... she thought of the green-haired boy that she would no doubt be seeing and her hand impulsively touched the little yellow bag around her waist. She smiled; she still owed him a little something... and was planning to give it to him as soon as she saw him today.

She approached her locker, twisted in the correct co-ordinates, opened the door and took out the yellow booklet entitled 'Math'. Peering around her open locker door, she expected to see Drew... but he wasn't there. Slightly disheartened, she decided to wait for him, so she took out her Skitty notebook that she hadn't written or doodled in in such a long time, closed her locker door, locked it and slid down to sit cross-legged on the floor.

She glanced down the corridor again and noticed that he still hadn't arrived. She sighed, then unzipped her bag and peered inside for her Beautifly pencil. Once she spotted it, she reached in, clasped her gloved hand around it and pulled it out before zipping her bag shut again. Propping herself up against the lockers, she leaned her notebook on her Math book, then leaned her Math book on her propped-up legs, opened her notebook and began to doodle.

"Whatcha doin', May?" a female voice from nearby asked.

May looked up to see Erica, who was walking past, hand-in-hand with Joshua, like always. "I'm just waiting for someone," she replied.

Erica tilted her head in confusion. "On the floor?"

May gave a weak smile in response. "Yeah."

Erica blinked at her before shaking her head and turning away, continuing her walk down the corridor, her books in the hand that wasn't holding onto Joshua's. "Strange girl..."

May rolled her eyes and turned back to her notebook, scribbling away.

* * *

A short while later, while May was applying the finishing touches to her sketch of Drew's head and shoulders, she heard someone approach and stop by the adjacent locker. Glancing up, she spotted the very boy she was drawing and squealed, slamming her notebook shut, her face turning red in embarrassment. He smirked before unlocking his locker to take out his morning book, which appeared to be a History book.

"What's the matter, Maybelle?" he asked, for once neglecting to emphasise the name she despised. "Drawing something you don't want me to see?"

May climbed up off the floor and stood facing him with a scowl on her face. "Well..." she replied hastily, "what if I am?"

Drew chuckled as he locked his locker. "Nothing obscene, I hope. Heaven knows you're far too young to be thinking such mature thoughts yet."

May's blush deepened slightly. "_No_! I'm... uh... drawing... something for... Art class..."

Drew gave her a look that clearly said that he didn't believe her. "Yeah right."

May huffed, clutching both books to her chest. She would die before she let him see that she'd drawn a picture of _him_. Man, imagine what he'd say to that! She'd never live it down!

She cleared her throat. "Yeah, well... I've got something for you, anyway..."

Drew raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking quizzical. "Oh?"

"Yeah... one sec." Kneeling down, she placed her books on the floor, then, straightening herself up again, unzipped her bag, put away her Beautifly pencil and pulled out something else. She then zipped her bag up again and turned back to Drew. "Here ya go." She held the object out to him.

Slowly... while looking at the object as though it might explode any second... Drew took it from her and turned it over in his hand, examining his own name written on one side of the white envelope. "A... Christmas card?"

May smiled and nodded, pleased with herself. "Yep."

He looked up at her. "You do realise that Christmas has come and gone, right?"

May's smile vanished and she frowned. "_Yes_, I know that... but you made me feel guilty with that stunt you pulled at the Christmas dance."

Drew seemed to raise his hand to flick his hair, suddenly notice that he couldn't, thanks to the card he was now holding in his previously free hand, and let it drop again. "'Stunt'?"

May placed her hands on her hips, smirking slightly at Drew because, since her books were on the floor, she had freedom of movement and he didn't. "Yes, _stunt_. You gave me a Christmas card... which I didn't think you were nice enough to do... so I felt guilty that I hadn't gotten _you_ one... and, since you gave me the card on the last freakin' day of school, there was no way I could have gotten a card to you sooner."

His mouth curled up into a light smirk. "Why? You know where my house is, don't you?"

May pursed her lip and glanced in the other direction. "Only _vaguely_. I'd have probably gotten lost if I'd tried to find it myself." She looked back at him. "Well, hurry up and open it! Class'll be starting soon!"

Drew rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, okay... don't get your bandana in a knot." May glared at him and he smirked again. "Oh, I forgot... it's already _in_ a-"

"Just open it!"

Drew chuckled. "Fine, okay." He then bent down and placed his History book on the floor before straightening up and proceeding to open the card.

As he did this, May looked him over; she glanced over everything, from his cool dress sense... to the way his fingers delicately opened the envelope... to his handsome face... to his gorgeous lime green hair draping over his gorgeous lime green eyes...

_Good grief, no..._ May thought, _I'm swooning._ She forced herself to stop staring at her new... crush... She took a moment to let that word soak in and inwardly sighed; she wouldn't gawk at him, no matter what. Imagine what he'd say if he found out her feelings towards him! Lord, she'd just die!

Drew pulled out the card and examined the cover, a brief smile gracing his lips. He then flipped open the card to read what was written inside. May looked at the cover herself, priding herself on the card that she'd given him; it contained a picture of a scene inside a house with a roaring fire and a beautifully-decorated Christmas tree, wrapped in tinsel, covered in baubles and topped with a golden star. On the rug by the fire slept a Dalmatian wearing a Christmas hat.

Drew looked up from his card and smiled at May. May smiled back, remembering what she had written in the card; she had wanted to echo his own words in the card he had written for her, so she had written:-

_To Drew_

_Merry Christmas_

_From May x_

Drew closed up the card, knelt down and picked up his History book. Once he'd straightened himself out again, he said, "Thanks, May."

May's heart skipped a beat. _Oh, man, he called me 'May' again... this time to my face!_ She could feel her cheeks tinting slightly. "Aheh... no problem... I owed you that, anyway."

There was a moment of awkward silence between them... so awkward that May really wanted something to hurry up and interrupt... then the bell rang. She sighed in relief; never had she heard a more glorious sound. She quickly picked up her books, said, "See ya, Drew" and walked off to class.

"See ya," she heard him say in return, just loud enough for her to hear. She smiled to herself, trying not to squeal in delight.

* * *

All throughout History, Drew just couldn't concentrate; his mind was elsewhere. As Mr. Miller rambled on about... something or other to do with the subject... he kept thinking back to the Christmas card that May had given to him.

He chuckled quietly to himself; it was awfully sweet of her, he had to admit... though it _was_ a little out-of-season... He paused; well, it was his own fault, really, wasn't it? He'd forced the card into her hand, not bothered sticking around to hear her response and then left the dance completely. He remembered not wanting to feel... awkwardly embarrassed about it... especially since he'd opted to write her beloved nickname in the card, rather than her hated real name... so he'd run away. He scowled at himself; that was so cowardly of him. He stopped scowling; then again... it's not like he had any _reason_ to stay... he had no friends, after all... His heart gave a slight pang at that and he sighed quietly through his nostrils; he may have always looked cool and aloof when it came to friends, but... in all honesty, he knew in his heart that he really wanted some... He really wanted a group... even if it were just a very small group... of people that he could call _real_ friends...

A book slammed onto his desk, nearly making him jump out of his skin. "Drew!" Mr. Miller shouted. "Are you daydreaming? I must have asked the question at least twice! Pay attention, boy!"

Drew, embarrassed that he'd jumped so high, shrunk in his seat. Unfortunately, he didn't miss the fact that people around him were sniggering at his expense. Glancing at Ash, he noticed that he was also sniggering. He glared at him. "Sorry, sir."

* * *

Eventually, both of Drew's morning lessons, History and Drama, were over and he was, once again, heading for his locker. He smiled; that was where he'd put his Christmas card from May earlier... though, after today, he'd be sure to take it home with him to prop on his bedside cabinet, right next to his vase of roses.

"Hey! Drew!" May's voice called out.

He turned round to see said girl rushing over to him, carrying her Math book, which she was obviously intending to put away. He smirked and flipped his hair, simply because... because he felt so awesomely cool doing so. "Hey, Maybelle."

Her face portrayed a very light frown. "It's May, thank you." She suddenly beamed. "Anyway! I wanted to ask you something!"

Drew gave her a quizzical look. "Okay... what?"

May's smile turned timid and she looked at the floor. "Well... at first, I thought Ash and Misty would object to it... and they actually _were_ pretty shocked that I'd even _suggest_ such a thing... but I let them know that we _are_ kinda friends now and that it'd only be right to let you come, so-"

Drew held up the hand that wasn't holding his History book. "Wait... what?"

May giggled in embarrassment and Drew put his hand back down. "Oh, sorry! I got so caught up in explaining the details that I didn't actually get down to telling you what the heck I'm talking about!" She giggled again.

Drew blinked at her. "Uh..."

"Eep!" May waved around the hand that wasn't holding her Math book in a panic. "Sorry! I'm doing it again!" She put her hand back down. "Uh... do you... maybe... wanna come to my birthday party next week?"

Drew stared at her, his eyes widening slightly. _Birthday party?_ he thought. _She's inviting me to her... birthday party?_ He blinked in astonishment... and suddenly felt a warm glow in the depths of his chest, causing his face to tint. It wasn't an altogether _bad_ feeling... it actually felt pretty _good_... but he didn't like it very much all the same.

To be fair, he'd never actually been in this situation before... Well, sure, he'd been invited to plenty of _fangirl_ parties in his lifetime... that he'd refused... but May wasn't one of his fangirls... she was different. However, the fact still remained that he did not like this feeling; it felt so... wrong a feeling for Drew O'Cadhla, 'the stoic samurai', as people... mostly girls... sometimes called him, to be experiencing. He gave a tiny frown; there was a saying... that went something like: if you spend so long hiding being a mask of stoicism, that mask becomes who you really are... It seemed to apply quite well to his situation.

He flipped his hair, yet couldn't stop his eyes from looking away. "Thanks, but no thanks... I don't like parties all that much."

He glanced back at May and saw a hurt look on her face. "Oh... are you sure?"

He turned away again and nodded. "Yes, I'm sure."

May's voice suddenly went really quiet. "Oh... okay... No problem." She then proceeded to open her locker and sort out her books.

Drew gazed sadly at her from the corner of his eye; there _was_ a small part of him that _did_ want to go... but his instincts were clearly telling him to refuse. After all, what if he accepted, expecting to be welcomed by Ash and Misty with open arms, only to have them shun him when he got there? He didn't think he could take that... it would hurt... and he'd feel like such a burden... His heart hardened; no, they wouldn't want him there anyway... he was sure of that.

Once May had put away her yellow book entitled 'Math' and taken out her brown book entitled 'Science', she closed and locked her locker... and Drew really wanted to apologise, say that he was sorry he couldn't... or rather _wouldn't_... attend her birthday party... but, alas, no such words would escape his mouth.

_Typical..._ he thought, _I can't even suck in my pride enough to say 'sorry' to her... I've probably really upset her now._ He looked over the miserable expression she wore before she said "Bye" and walked away. He inwardly sighed. _Yep... I've upset her._

As he stood there and watched her walk round the corner and out of sight, he began to wonder... did his excuse to himself for not wanting to go to her birthday party really make much sense?

* * *

A certain person hiding behind a tree at the front of Blue Moon Junior High watched quietly and carefully as the students piled out and headed towards either their family cars or the school bus. Eventually, he saw three students, one ginger-haired girl he instantly labelled as 'Red', one black-haired boy he instantly labelled as 'Blackie' and one brown-haired girl he already knew as 'May', walking down the pathway together. He narrowed his eyes.

"Oh well!" 'Red' said loudly, clenching a fist and holding it up to her chest. "So what if he doesn't wanna come?" She folded her arms grouchily. "We can have just as much fun without him!"

"Yeah, maybe more!" 'Blackie' added.

'Red' beamed at him. "You got that right!"

May, however, continued to stare at the floor as she walked, obviously dispirited.

'Blackie' appeared to notice this, judging by the worried look he gave her before throwing an arm round her shoulders. "Hey, don't worry, May... if Drew doesn't wanna come, that's _his_ problem. There's no need to get depressed over it."

'Red' snorted. "Yeah... I mean, come on... it's starting to look like you have a crush on the guy."

May halted, her face burning. "I so do not!" she exclaimed.

The other two laughed, halted themselves and said simultaneously, "_Sure_ you don't!"

"I don't!"

'Blackie' and 'Red' continued to laugh, May's face continuously getting redder by the minute, until, eventually, the former two calmed down.

"Okay, okay..." 'Red' said, wiping her watering eyes, "but, seriously..." Her wrist suddenly flew to her hip, giving her an air of confidence. "Your birthday party next week is gonna rock so hard that Drew'll be weeping that he missed it!"

_So May's having a birthday party next week, huh?_ the person behind the tree thought.

May laughed. "Thanks, Misty," she replied.

'_Misty'? That's her friend's name? Hmph... not that I care about it anyway._

"So..." 'Blackie' said, scratching the back of his head sheepishly, "what day was your party again, May?"

The person behind the tree smirked. _Ooh, thank you very much, 'Blackie'... you have no idea what a help you're being to me._

Misty frowned and May rolled her eyes. "Come on, Ash..." May said, "I _told_ you this already... it's on Thursday."

_So 'Blackie' is called 'Ash', eh?_

"And have you forgotten the _place_ as _well_, nimrod?" Misty asked.

The person behind the tree sniggered. _Oh, they're such lovely people... thank you so much, 'Red'._

"Uh..." Ash replied.

Misty smacked Ash upside the head. "You idiot," she said, "it's at the ice rink. You _do_ remember that May's always wanted to go ice skating, right?

Ash laughed to himself. "Oh yeah!"

Misty shook her head at him and began walking away. Ash and May took one look at each other, began chuckling and followed her.

The man behind the tree grinned a devious grin. _Oh, now I have you, May..._ he thought. _Prepare yourself for a birthday you'll __**never**__ forget._ He chuckled. _My friends will see to it personally that that's what you get..._


	27. May's Day Gone Good

Author's note: Uh, yeah... well, what can I say? I'm in college. Sorry. I've had exams to do and coursework deadlines to meet... plus (now, get ready for this) I'm kinda getting sick of this story now... just a little bit... It's been running for so long, I'm slowly losing interest... and, because of this, I started getting into other fics of mine/programmes I started watching on the Internet. Maybe someone could try and help me with this? Lol.

**Chapter Twenty-seven: May's Day Gone Good**

It was just over a week after Drew had politely declined May's invitation to her birthday party... after which, a mysterious person had, unbeknownst to anyone but himself, been secretly eavesdropping on Ash, Misty and May's conversation about said party, thereby finding out valuable information and plotting things against her, which were to take place on that very day... it was Thursday morning and Maybelle Styles' eleventh birthday.

May walked along the corridors that morning with a huge grin on her face, a spring in her step and a huge multi-coloured badge on her T-shirt, which read, '11 TODAY!' At last, she was no longer ten years old... and, therefore, was one step closer to being a teenager! She just _had_ to parade that fact proudly to anyone she met.

"Hi, May!" Casey said as she walked past her, waving her baseball bat around wildly. "Happy birthday!"

Giorgio, who was stood beside her, dodging his head out of the way of his girlfriend's deadly weapon, nodded. "Yeah," he said, "happy birthday."

May beamed at them both. "Thanks!" she replied, almost skipping round the corner.

Sakura, who was standing by her locker, which was open with a photograph of her and Tracey with their arms around one another stuck to the inside of the door, turned and caught May's eye. She smiled. "Hey, May," she said. "Happy birthday."

May continued to grin as she passed her. "Thank you!"

As she turned another corner, Timmy, who was bent down, tying his shoelace with his face screwed in concentration, looked up. His expression softened. "May!" he said. "Happy birthday!"

May waved at him. "Thanks!"

She truly was skipping now as she made her way down the corridor. It was then that Kelly, who was heading into the opposite direction, her morning books being held in her arms, saw her. "Hey, May," she said. "Happy birthday."

May giggled. "Thank you!"

As May stopped by her locker, she noticed Brianna walking along the other corridor ahead of her. The girl spotted her and waved. "Morning, May," she said. "Happy birthday."

May felt like her face was stuck in a permanent smile and she loved it. "Thanks!"

As Brianna smiled and walked away, May sighed happily. Wow... so many people had said 'Happy birthday' to her; Ash and Misty had when she'd got out of the car earlier, Joshua and Erica had as she'd parted with Ash and Misty for the morning, heading down 

the corridors towards her locker, and, now, Casey and Giorgio had, Sakura had, Timmy had, Kelly had and Brianna had! She felt so loved.

"Morning," a male voice said to her.

Turning on her heel, she saw Drew... and immediately felt awkward, her bright smile fading from her face. "Um... morning..."

There was a short moment of silence before Drew sighed and shrugged his shoulders in a sort of 'What can I say? I _don't_ like parties... sorry...' way, indicating without words to let the subject they both knew was concerning her go. She gave a light nod in response and smiled again.

As he opened his locker to get out whatever he needed, she stared at him; wasn't he going to wish her a happy birthday, like everyone else? Or... did he not care much for doing that either? She glanced at the floor, feeling slightly sad, and instantly thought back to that day when she'd asked him to her birthday party... and he'd refused. She'd felt hurt; she'd really wanted him to come and he'd dashed her hopes and crushed her spirits by saying no. Was he doing this to taunt her? Did he enjoy seeing her hurt? Or... was it just that he'd never think of her as a friend? She felt saddened by this thought.

"Something wrong?"

May jumped slightly and looked up at Drew, her heart beating faster in the shock; wow, he'd noticed that she was feeling down... she really ought to try harder to conceal her emotions. At times, it was awful being so easy to read.

She shook her head. "Oh, no... don't worry about it." She forced a smile onto her face.

He blinked twice at her before both his eyebrows and eyelids lowered slightly, giving her a look that clearly said he wasn't buying the fake smile, but he didn't voice his thoughts. Instead, he turned away and continued shuffling things around in his locker.

A short silence followed, where May completely ignored her own locker and tried to think of something to talk to him about. The silence while she thought was grating; it was the most horrible of sounds. Eventually, she thought of something.

"Um, Drew?"

He looked up at her. "Hmm?"

"Why do people call you the 'stoic samurai'?" He raised an eyebrow at her. "I heard Brianna say it a few days ago, but I never got the chance to ask you about it."

Still not speaking a word, Drew pulled out his P.E. kit, neatly folded and under his arm, closed his locker, locked it, then leaned on it. May felt awkward in the silence.

Suddenly, Drew smirked. "Hmph." He then flicked his hair with the hand that wasn't wrapped around his P.E. kit. "Well... if you must know, it's because I'm known to always be cold and serious, like a samurai. I barely smile, as you should know by now... and I just tend to either scowl or smirk."

May was genuinely fascinated by this new discovery. "Oh... I see."

"Plus, the alliteration of the two 's's makes it sound cool. 'Stoic samurai'. It's about as cool as me... which is why it suits me so well."

If May had the power to sweat-drop, then that moment would have been the perfect opportunity to do so; Lord, he was so full of himself sometimes that it was unbelievable... and, yet, she still had a crush on him. How _does_ one work such a mystery out?

"Uh... huh..."

Drew chuckled, lifting himself up from his leaning position. "Eh... it's not something I'd expect _you_ to understand." She glared at him for that comment; she wasn't stupid and really didn't like being referred to as such. "Oh, yeah, before I leave for class..." Using his free hand, his pushed one side of his purple jacket open, reached into the inside pocket, then looked left and right, as if checking to see if there was anyone around. May mimicked his actions and, creepily enough, the corridor was completely empty. She then turned back to Drew and saw him pull out a rose before moving his hand away from his jacket, causing it to flop back into place against him. "Here." He held it out to her, almost thrusting it in her face.

She stared at it, gobsmacked; _another_ one? How many was that now? She counted them in her head; one, two, three, four, five... _Five_? _Five_ roses? And just what was _this_ one for? Anything special? Or did he _like_ randomly handing out roses to her?

"Um... thanks..." She reached out and took it by its thornless stem, breaking her staring to look Drew in the eyes.

He flipped his hair again. "Since I won't be around to grace you with my presence tonight, think of this as a consolation prize." She frowned in irritation at his smug expression. He shrugged. "Y'know... not as good as the prize you wanted, but still pretty good."

May was affronted by this arrogant comment. "Wha-? Now, hold on!" Drew gave her a two-fingered salute and walked off down the corridor. "Hey! Wait a minute! Drew! Don't walk away from me while I'm-"

He stopped in the middle of the corridor and half-turned in her direction. "Oh yeah and, by the way... happy birthday." He continued walking until he disappeared round the corner.

May stared after him; 'happy... birthday'? 'Happy birthday'? He actually... he... wished her a... he... She felt her cheeks tint; he still cared about her feelings... and, even though he wasn't coming to her birthday party, he wished her a... She looked down at the rose in her hand... And he gave her a... A smile tugged at her lips as she turned to her locker.

* * *

Once Drew, clad in a white T-shirt and dark blue shorts, had sat down on the grass and folded his legs, just like every other boy in his class had, he sighed; Lord, why was he so... disappointed with himself? He was right to refuse her stupid invitation... he didn't want to go and be glared at or shot wary looks all night long by Ash and Misty... plus, 

parties _weren't_ his thing... he didn't like to have parties on his _own_ birthdays, never mind anyone else's.

Well, one good thing was that he'd given May a birthday present. He gave a light smirk; sure, he may have _said_ that it was a consolation prize... to annoy her and amuse himself... but that didn't mean he had to mean it. After all, he'd realised that May had deserved a present to make up for him not coming to her party; he'd have felt even more guilty if he hadn't given her anything... and of course, it just wasn't him to admit the real reason for whatever un-Drew-like actions he took. He'd look soft if he did that... and he'd completely ruin his 'stoic samurai' image.

A thought suddenly crossed his mind and his expression turned somewhat sad as it tugged at his heartstrings; in actual fact, he _did_ want to go to her party... he _really_ did... just so that he could say to himself afterwards that he'd attended his crush's birthday party... but he knew he couldn't... and wouldn't.

His heart hardened and he scowled to himself; Ash and Misty didn't like him... didn't trust him... so there was no doubt whatsoever in his mind that they'd prefer him not to be there. After all, his presence would upset the 'delicate balance', wouldn't it? It wouldn't just be the three best friends anymore... because the 'extra' would be there too. 'The Three Musketeers' would become 'The Three Musketeers, Plus One That Two Musketeers Don't Really Like And Is Only There Because The Third Musketeer Invited Him'.

As he stared, blank-faced, at a spot on the grass that was blowing gently in the wind, thoughts racing through his mind, he was vaguely aware that a couple of his classmates were shooting him weird looks... looks that suggested they were wondering about his sanity... possibly due to how his expression kept changing every few seconds for no apparent reason. Not that he cared; he was too absorbed in his thoughts to care. Also, somewhere in the background, he heard a voice speaking, but he merely ignored it, continuing to stare at the grass near his feet and think.

In an instant, his mind suddenly wandered back to the topic it sometimes reached when he thought too much about May: how he had pretty much every girl in school falling at his feet, yet no one to genuinely call his friends... yet May herself had _no_ boys falling at her feet and two _best_ friends that would do anything for her and stick by her through thick and thin. His face formed an expression somewhere in-between irritation and sadness; he was more jealous of May in that respect than she could possibly understand... not that he'd ever tell her. Imagine how that'd make him look. Lord, she'd start to pity him... and pity was the last thing he wanted from _anyone_.

"Everyone understand?" a deep male voice suddenly asked.

Drew blinked in surprise and looked up to see his P.E. teacher standing in front of him... and, if he could have sweat-dropped, he would have done; just when did Mr. Davis get there? He wasn't there a minute ago, was he?

"Yep!" the rest of the class replied before standing up.

Dumbfounded, Drew stood up along with them; just _what_ was he supposed to understand, exactly?

"Okay... now get into your positions and let's play some soccer!"

Drew blanched, tilting backwards with a horrified expression on his face; _positions_? Oh, crud... what was his position? He hadn't been listening!

* * *

Finally, after another long day at school, May had made it home... and her first priority was to place her fifth rose from Drew in the vase on the window sill. As she took it out of her bag and walked over to the window sill, she couldn't help but look at the rose again... and smiled as she did so; Drew was a really strange boy, for sure. One minute, he'd be all arrogant, flipping his hair and making smarmy comments to tick her off... and the next, he'd be acting all sweet and giving her red roses... not white roses, to symbolise friendship, but red roses... which symbolise love... She shook her head, chuckling to herself; there was no way he felt that way about her, though she felt she had yet to understand him... just as she had yet to understand why she felt the way she did about him.

Tearing her gaze away from the rose clutched between her gloved fingers, she dropped said rose into the vase with the other four. She smiled again as she watched it sink into place, the stem sliding into the water and the petals mingling with and complimenting the petals of the other roses... and it was then that she noticed something strange. Her smile dropped slightly.

"Huh?" she asked, staring at the five roses in the vase.

"What's wrong, May?" her mother asked as she walked in from the kitchen.

May turned to her. "Mom, why do all the roses still look so healthy? I mean, the oldest one is five months old. Cut roses don't _last_ that long, do they?"

There was a moment of silence as May saw her mother's mouth curl upwards. The woman seemed to be trying to fight it back down, but it wasn't looking like it was working; she began to shake and strange noises began to come out of her mouth. May stared at her, dumbfounded. Suddenly, it seemed too much and Caroline burst into a fit of giggles.

She clasped her hands together by the side of her face. "Why, May, I was beginning to think you'd never notice!"

May blinked at her. "Huh?"

Caroline seemed to be beaming, which was really starting to creep May out. The woman then placed the wrists of both hands on her hips. "Well, you see... I've been taking very good care of your roses; I've been keeping the vase clean, continually topping it up with warm water and plant growth hormones and diagonally cutting the stems every time the roses started to wilt." She chuckled again. "It's fortunate that they're resting on _this_ window sill, which mainly keeps them _out_ of direct sunlight. If they were on the _living_ room window sill, they wouldn't last as long."

May blinked again, slightly overwhelmed by all the flower talk. "Oh..."

Caroline giggled again. "But you're right; not even roses tended to as delicately as _that_ would last forever... so, every time one of the roses dies, I go out and buy a new one and start the process all over again!"

"You do? But... aren't roses expensive?"

"Pfft, you bet they are... but I don't mind in the slightest!"

May's body slouched as her eyes widened and her eyebrow rose. "And... _why_ would you go through all that trouble just to keep my roses healthy?"

Caroline made a squealing noise while spinning on the spot. Her hands then clasped her face in a gesture of pure bliss, her face tinting red. "Because, just as I don't want Drew's love for you to wilt and die, I don't want his _symbol_ of love for you to wilt and die."

May felt her face burn heavily, an expression of pure horror crossing her features. "_Mom_!"

"Oh, I simply can't wait to meet him. He sounds like such a romantic, what with all the roses he keeps giving you." Caroline winked at her daughter.

May looked down at the floor, her face so hot she was pretty sure that steam would be pouring from her ears any minute. "Mom, Drew's _not_ in love with me... He... he's just..."

"But, May, red roses are the flower of love. They symbolise the blood in your very veins flowing in and out of your very heart... and hearts are always used to symbolise love."

"We're not in love! _He's_ not in love with _me_ and _I'm_ not in love with _him_!"

"No," Max's voice said from the doorway. She turned to see him smirking at her. He pushed his glasses up his nose and she saw them glint devilishly. "You just have a really huge crush on him."

May shrieked. "I so do not!"

Max folded his arms and leaned on the doorframe. "So why is your face so red?"

"I... you... I... You're both embarrassing me! Love for Drew... a _crush_ on Drew... honestly..." She glared at Max. "And just what are you doing home so early, anyway? You're supposed to be in school!"

Norman appeared beside his son in the doorway. "Max called from school to say he was feeling sick, so I brought him home."

"Well, he looks fine to me!"

"Hmph..." Max said, "I'll have you know I threw up at school today. I think there's a bug going round."

"Well, get to bed then and keep out of my hair!"

"Yeah," Norman said, "listen to your sister, Max. Put your PJs, dressing gown and slipper socks on and climb into bed. 'Sweat the sickness out', as they say."

Max put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, okay... I just thought teasing May might make me feel better."

May growled. "You little ingrate."

She stormed towards the door, determined to get away from her embarrassing and annoying family. Maybe she could head to her room and listen to her music collection, which was stored on her and Max's shared iPod, for a while. She could seriously go for some nice rock/pop music about now.

As she approached the doorway, her father moved out of her way, but her little brother didn't... apparently trying to be clever with her... so, irritated, she shoved him to the side. This caused Max to lose his balance and fall over, shrieking as he did so. May smirked in satisfaction; that evened up the score nicely. Now, to rush upstairs and calm her immense blush; it'd be nice to be her natural colour again for the party in a few hours.


	28. May's Day Gone Bad

Author's note: Ugh. Well, originally, this space was filled with a rant about people expecting too much of me and I'm not perfect or an expert story-writer, blah, blah, blah, but I've deleted that now. It got quite tiresome to look at.

Instead, I'll say this. Do any of you lovely reviewers like Tokyo Mew Mew? I started a fic on that, but it hasn't gained much publicity. So, if you've either a) watched all 52 episodes or b) don't care much for major (and I mean _major_) spoilers, do check it out, won't you please? Oh and it's T-rated. Do be warned, kiddies. Lol.

I know that I've taken forever with this update... and I'm sorry... but my motivation for this fic has dropped. It's getting harder to write for and I've been busy with other things, mainly to do with college... so this chapter is dedicated to Lgacy2X, who was kind enough to raise my motivation a few notches.

Jeez... this chapter's gone through _so much_ editing, you wouldn't believe it... and it's _still_ slightly too long, but oh well. I can't cut it down any more. Lol.

**Chapter Twenty-eight: May's Day Gone Bad**

It was a few hours after May had arrived home from school to suffer immense embarrassment with her family's stupid suggestions about her and Drew being in love... during which time she'd relaxed on her bed, listening to music on her and Max's shared iPod while Max himself lay in his own bed nearby, wrapped up as warm as possible and still teasing her whenever he thought she could hear him... and now, finally, after a while of driving in the car, she was at the destination of her party.

It was to Misty Waterflower's great relief that the Styles family eventually showed up at the ice rink, arriving at the table that she Ash... both of whom had been dropped off by Ash's mother, Delia... were sitting at while waiting for them. They were a tiny bit late, which, according to May, was because it had apparently taken them a decade to get Max out of bed... and he'd been in bed in the first place to recover from his illness... and had explained how the boy couldn't stay very long, since he was _still_ very ill and needed to be taken back home.

After this had occurred, May had been bombarded with birthday presents to open by everyone sitting around her... and the excited eleven-year-old had torn into them with such ferocity that Misty couldn't help but be slightly overwhelmed.

* * *

"Wow!" May said as she pushed aside the shiny silver wrapping paper to reveal Misty's present: a Torchic doll. "Thanks, Misty!" Misty beamed while May hugged the Torchic doll lovingly. "Aww, it's so cute!"

Misty held her head up proudly. "I knew you'd-" She stopped mid-sentence, as May had already put it down and begun tearing into Ash's present, which was wrapped in swirly blue wrapping paper. "... Like it." She couldn't help but chuckle at the brunette's eagerness.

May squealed again as she pulled a fairly thick book entitled 'Cultures and Traditions Around the World' from the wrapping paper. "How cool!" She smiled brightly. "Thank you, Ash!"

"There you go," Misty said, nodding. "Now, when you go abroad one day to visit shops around the world, you'll already know the country's cultures."

May giggled. "Hey, you're right!" Then she placed the present down and tore into her present from Max, which was wrapped in green and black-striped wrapping paper. Suddenly, her expression softened. "It's a shame you can't stick around, Max... and an even _bigger_ shame that Mom and Dad can't stick around either..."

"Oh, don't worry about it, May," Caroline said comfortingly. "Besides, what eleven-year-old wants two old fuddy-duddies ruining their party?" May turned to her mother and was about to protest, but Caroline shook her head. "Norman's the only one who can drive, but we all know I'm the best care-giver in the family... so we're _both_ going home, okay?" She chuckled. "Besides, you'll have _much_ more fun without us. Max would only be moaning about how ill he's feeling and Norman and I would only be cramping your style."

May chuckled. "Okay, okay..." Eventually, she managed to open the present. "Oh, wow! It's _beautiful_!"

She held it up for everyone to see and Misty was awestruck; it was a silver charm bracelet covered in Pokemon charms. She could see a Bulbasaur, a Charmander, a Squirtle, a Chikorita, a Cyndaquil, a Totodile, a Treecko, a Torchic and a Mudkip dangling from it.

_No way he could have afforded that __**himself**_ she thought with a slight smirk.

"Thanks so much, Max!" May squealed, leaning over to hug him, but he waved his arms in protest, so she gave up.

"And, lastly..." Norman said, holding out a plastic bag full of presents wrapped in golden wrapping paper with 'Happy birthday' written all over them in brown, "more presents from your mom and me."

"You opened most of ours at home," Caroline added, winking, "but these are for your friends to see," Caroline said.

* * *

Misty had felt impressed as she'd looked over all the presents that May had gotten from her parents; altogether, it was a brand new outfit. It consisted of a green bandana, an orange, black and white minidress, white and black gloves, green and black wristbands, black knickerbockers, a small green bag to put around her waist, black socks and orange, white and black sneakers... and she'd been able to see how much May had loved it; the girl had bounced up and down, screeching 'thank you' over and over again.

Now, however, the three friends were alone, as Norman and Caroline had taken the very ill Max back home to be 'tended to'... which most likely meant lots of chicken soup, medicine and motherly fussing for the poor soul.

As Misty pulled on her ice skates, she heard Ash complain next to her about the 'stupid gosh-forsaken laces' and chuckled to herself. May, in the meantime, was muttering to herself and it sounded something like 'How the heck do I do these up?' so she decided to help them. _She'd_ been ice-skating for her cousin's birthday a few times, so she knew what she was doing. Ash, on the other hand, had only been once before with his family and had forgotten what to do already... and May had never been before.

* * *

It had taken a while for Misty to teach Ash and May how to ice skate... as May had fallen over three times and Ash had slipped twice, both times ending up sprawled over the railing... and Misty had gotten a lot of laughs out of this... but, now, eventually, the three of them were happily zooming around on the ice rink. Ash even waved to Misty as he skated past her, a huge grin on his face... and the red-head's heart skipped a beat as his arm brushed against hers, reminding her instantly of what had occurred on New Year's Day. A slight blush rose to her cheeks.

She recalled that, back then, on that fateful day, as soon as it had reached midnight, she'd _really_ wanted to kiss Ash and use 'good luck' as the perfect excuse... but she'd found that she just didn't have the courage, so she hadn't even _attempted_ it. Her heartbeat quickened; the only thing was... Ash had done something very peculiar that night that she simply could _not_ get out of her mind, no matter _what_ she did.

She continued to skate around the rim, amongst other people that were there, and thought how, that night, she'd sensed him getting closer and closer to her along the frame of the patio... but, every time she'd looked at him, he'd been looking away, so she'd thought that maybe she'd been imagining it. However, she'd gotten really confused when his arm had touched hers, seeing as, before that, he'd been a decent distance away. The big moment, though, was of course when she'd turned around after his little tap on her shoulder to see his face mere inches away from hers... and her heart had stopped.

She turned to look back at Ash, who was elsewhere on the ice rink, having a race with May, both of whom could skate really well now, and another blush rose to her face; just what the heck had he been _doing_ that night? His face had been within _kissing_ distance, yet he'd made no movements to suggest that he'd wanted to kiss her... he'd just stood there and stared at her. It had _looked_ like that had been what he'd wanted... but she hadn't been sure... and she'd been too shocked by how close he'd been to think straight.

She'd wanted so badly in that moment to kiss him... Lord, of course she did... but his face hadn't displayed _anything_ but uncertainty. He'd looked like he'd jumped into the deep end of a swimming pool, then figured out that he didn't know how to swim. He'd looked like he'd got that far but wasn't sure what to do next... and she really hadn't been sure how to handle that... then May had shouted out to them and shocked her so much that she'd jumped and headbutted him... She sighed.

* * *

After a while of skating, the trio had gathered together and gone back to their table to get something to eat... taking off their ice skates as they did so... but, as soon as they reached said table, they could see that something was wrong.

May shrieked. "My presents!" she screamed, looking all round the table. "Where are my presents?"

"Oh, my..." Ash said, stopping himself short, "someone _stole_ your birthday presents?"

"I... I don't know!" May almost looked as if she were about to cry. "But... but they're not here! Did... _did_ someone steal them?"

Fury blinded Misty's eyes like she'd never felt before. She faced the group of onlookers, her eyes blazing, her fists tightly clenched and her teeth grinding together. "Alright!" she bellowed. "Who the heck took May's birthday presents?"

Deathly silence followed her words... nobody speaking or moving... until a little girl who looked about six pointed in the direction of the door. Misty spun around in absolute fury and saw two people dressed in black ninja outfits... and, in their hands, plastic bags full of May's birthday presents.

"Um..." one of them said in a masculine voice.

Misty thrust out an arm and pointed at them. "Thieves!"

Both 'ninjas' turned to look at her, their eyes clearly showing that they were smirking at her. "Well, now, aren't _you_ a brave little girl," one said with a feminine voice, "throwing such _harsh_ accusations around like that."

"Yes," the other agreed in the same masculine voice as before, "what makes you think we're thieves?"

"My... my..." May said from beside her, a mix of dawning comprehension and utter horror creeping into her voice. "They're my birthday presents!"

"Yeah, they are!" Ash said. "Give them back, right now!"

"Mmm mmm mmm!" the female said, waving her finger around. "We wouldn't be very good thieves if we gave back what we stole, now, would we?"

"Yes," the male agreed, "so we'll be leaving with these valuable-looking presents now."

"Oh no, you won't!" Ash yelled.

"You're not getting away with my presents!" May yelled.

"Just who _are_ you guys, anyway?" Misty asked.

The two 'ninjas' chuckled, then dramatically pulled off their ninja clothes by the Velcro with an added "Ha!" to reveal a teenage boy with blue hair and green eyes and a teenage girl with long pinkish-purple hair and blue eyes... and both were wearing white outfits emblazoned with a red 'R'.

"Prepare for trouble," the girl said.

"Make it double," the boy added.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

The girl made a dramatic pose. "Jessie!"

The boy knelt down and also made a dramatic pose. "James."

"Supporters of Team Rocket _blast_ off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to fight."

Suddenly, a teenage boy dressed in a Cacturne outfit jumped in front of them with his arms spread out. "Thaaaat's right, dolls!"

"_Harley_?" May screeched in shock.

Misty looked the guy over, surprised. _Harley?_ she thought. _Now, why does that name sound so familiar?_

Harley stood up, picked up a tray of cookies from a nearby table and brought them over to May. "How you doing, May?" he asked, sugar dripping from his voice. "How about a cookie? I made them myself."

"A cookie?" May asked, pointing at Jessie and James. "But... what were you doing with-?" She couldn't finish, as a cookie was shoved into her mouth. She grabbed hold of it, took a bite, then pulled it out of her mouth. She chewed for a moment. "Mmm! Hey, these aren't half bad!"

Harley violently threw the tray of cookies to one side and thrust his face, murderous glare and all, towards May. "_Not_... _half_... _bad_?" Misty actually backed away in fear... and she could see that Ash and May had done the same. "They're the best darn cookies _around_, doll-face!"

_Oh, I remember now..._ Misty thought, _May told us that she met 'a freak in a Cacturne costume' on Bonfire Night. This must be him._

"Harley, what's going on?" May asked, her voice betraying her confusion. "Who are these... 'Team Rocket supporters'? And why are _you_ here?"

"Hey..." Ash said, his tone suggesting curiosity, "by 'Team Rocket'... do you mean the bad guys in Pokemon Yellow?"

Both Jessie and James stood up straight, wrists on hips, and smirked proudly. "That's right!" Jessie replied.

"_Their_ evil is the evillest of _all_ evils..." James added, pulling a red rose from his pocket and holding it up to his face, "and, plus, we like their style."

Harley giggled girlishly. "Hate to break it to you, May Doll..." he said, waving a hand around and winking, "but I _arranged_ this whole charade."

Misty was horrified. "What?" she, Ash and May all asked at the same time.

"But... _why_, Harley?" May asked in clear despair.

Harley frowned, his hands landing back on his hips. "Hmph! As if you didn't know! Bonfire Night... I told you that your outfit was _nice_... and all _you_ said was that _mine_ was 'pretty cool'!"

"Um... well..."

"And _then_ you asked me what the heck my outfit was supposed to _be_! And, once I told you it was a Cacturne, you said 'What's a Cacturne?'!"

"Well, I..."

"Hmph..." He folded his arms and smirked. "Didn't I _tell_ you that you were gonna regret it?" He tipped his head in the direction of Jessie and James, who both chuckled.

May looked gobsmacked and tears appeared to be clouding her eyes. "Harley..."

Once again, Misty was overcome with fury. _No one_ made her best friend cry and got away with it... _no one_. Screaming "You jerk!" she lunged at him, knocking him to the floor.

"Misty!" Ash's voice called out, but she completely ignored it and punched Harley everywhere she could reach, Harley protesting with squeals of pain. "No, stop!" She felt two arms grab her and pull her off him. "Misty, cool it!"

"O-kay..." Jessie said, "well... bye!" She and James ran out of the ice rink at top speed.

"Hey!" May yelled, racing after them. "Get back here!"

"May!" Ash and Misty cried at the same time, racing after her.

* * *

On and on the three friends ran, chasing the two teenagers round and round the streets, determined beyond anything to get May's birthday presents back.

"Give it up, twerps!" Jessie yelled. "You'll _never_ catch us!"

"Gimme back my presents!" May yelled.

"And you'll never get your presents back either!" James yelled.

"Oh, yes, we will!" Ash yelled.

"Oh, no, you wo- Argh!" Jessie screeched, skidding to a stop.

The three friends stopped as they noticed what was in front of Jessie and James: Officer Jenny, walking round a corner.

"You two!" she shouted, thrusting an arm in their direction and pointing at them.

"Um... um..." Jessie said, clearly panicking, "oh, dear..."

"Officer!" May shouted. "They stole my birthday presents!"

Officer Jenny looked furious. "They did _what_?" She pulled out a pair of metal handcuffs from her pocket.

"Oh, uh, well, you see..." James said, his small talk clearly not getting him anywhere.

She began to walk towards them. "You two are under arrest for eighteen counts of robbery!"

"Aheh, what a coincidence!" Jessie said light-heartedly. "We both _are_ eighteen!"

"Anything you say or do _can_ and _will_ be used against you in a-"

"Run away!" Jessie and James yelled at the same time, dropping the plastic bags and bolting in the opposite direction.

"Hey!" Officer Jenny called out, racing after them, her high heels clack-clacking on the concrete floor. "Get back here, thieves!"

"Oh, darn it!" James shouted. "We dropped the bags!"

"Never mind the bags!" Jessie replied. "Just keep running!"

"Looks like we're blasting off!" they both shouted at the same time as they disappeared into the distance, Officer Jenny hot on their heels.

For a few moments, Ash, Misty and May said nothing as they all stared blankly at the spot where the trio had disappeared... then they looked at each other... then they looked back at that same spot, not quite sure what to say.

Eventually, Ash asked, "So... uh... good birthday so far, May?"

"Um..." May replied, "I think I'll get back to you on that one..."

"Yeah..." Misty added.

Nothing more could be said as the plastic bags were retrieved and the trio of friends made their way back to the ice rink to continue what was left of the party.


	29. The Red Girl's New Clothes

Author's note: Shock. Horror. Amazement. I've gone and updated again. XD

Anyway, from here on, May shall be wearing her birthday outfit from last chapter (which, of course, is her outfit from Pokemon Emerald). To get an idea what it looks like, check out the following website (without spaces and with an underscore. Do ask me if you don't know what an underscore is. Lol).

http : / / en . wikipedia . org / wiki / Image : May (underscore) Emerald . png

It's amazing, though, that I made her have this outfit _before_ finding out that she actually _does_ wear it in Diamond and Pearl. Wow. I'm psychic. Haha.

I dunno if this chapter's any good. Lol. As you know, I've been away from this fic for a while (mainly because of the kidney infection I had, which caused backache and a monster migraine that made it feel like glass shards were scraping across my brain - though I'm all better now, thanks to medication)... but I tried.

Lastly, the chapter title was inspired by The Emperor's New Clothes. Meh. It was the best I could come up with.

**Chapter Twenty-nine: The Red Girl's New Clothes**

It was the day after May's birthday... where Ash, Misty and May had spent the day at the town ice rink and had come across Harley, Jessie and James, who had tried unsuccessfully to ruin the party by stealing May's birthday presents... and it was Friday morning.

Drew O'Cadhla was walking down the corridor, heading for his locker, as he continued to wonder what kinds of things had happened at May's birthday party the previous day... and whether she'd had fun without him. A small part of him wished that she hadn't... because that would mean that his presence was so valuable to her that she'd miss him, thereby ruining the fun time that she _should_ have had. However, he quickly squashed that thought down, as he considered it very selfish to think such a thing.

He turned the corner and halted, noticing a very unfamiliar sight in front of him; there was a girl by May's locker, collecting her morning books... who had the same hair and the same style outfit as May... but said outfit was orange and green, with bits of black and white all over it. He slowly walked over to her.

"May?" he asked, feeling confused.

The girl turned to look at him and May's blue eyes struck him instantly. Yep, it was definitely her. She smiled. "Morning, Drew," she replied.

Drew blinked at her, looking the outfit up and down, heavily intrigued by the fact that there wasn't a scrap of red – her favourite colour – on her. He looked back at her face and saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks.

He cleared his throat and flipped his hair. "Um... interesting outfit."

May smiled at him. "Heh... thanks!" She gave him a twirl. "It was a birthday present from my mom and dad."

Drew stared. "A whole outfit?"

May giggled and nodded. "It's... sort of a tradition between me, Ash and Misty to get brand new outfits on our birthdays." She pouted slightly. "My brother, Max, doesn't like following the tradition, though. Instead, he only likes to get a new outfit at the start of a new school year." She giggled again. "He's so stubborn."

"How interesting." Drew smirked. "Well, it looks like I can't call you 'Red' anymore."

May frowned, puffing out her cheeks. "I thought we were over that. You know me as 'May' now, so there's no _reason_ to call me 'Red' anymore."

Drew turned his head to the side smugly. "Well, there's no harm in it. Just because I know you're name's 'May' now... doesn't mean I can't call you stupid nicknames just for the fun of it."

May groaned, slumping her shoulders and throwing him an exasperated look. "You are such a jerk... you know that?"

Drew sighed dramatically, flipping his hair again. "I try."

May narrowed her eyes, then sighed, apparently giving up, and straightened herself up again. She then shut and locked her locker. "'Humungous Jerkus'. That's what they should call _you_."

Drew chuckled, humoured by her feeble insult. "And they should call _you_ 'Colourus Clashus'... or 'Miss Colour Clash On Legs'... 'cause the colours you wear _still_ clash."

May threw him a half-glare. "Excuse me, but they don't _clash_... they _match_."

Drew faked a cough and glanced in the other direction, then back again with a smirk on his face. "Whatever."

This time, May actually did glare at him. "What, is 'Orange' not a creative enough name for you?"

Drew pretended to think. "Mmm... nah. _Way_ too bland. It doesn't work as well as 'Red' did." May tutted and rolled her eyes. Drew then placed a hand to his chin, contemplating. "Although... I _could_ call you 'Citrus'..."

May's mouth fell open and she gaped at him. "What?"

Drew nodded, dropping his hand back down to his side. "Yeah... I'll call you 'Citrus'."

May's cheeks flushed again. "W-What on Earth _for_?"

Drew blinked innocently. "'Cause you're orange and green... like oranges and limes..." He smirked. "Which are citrus fruits."

May puffed out her cheeks a second time. "W... Why you!" She then took a deep breath, apparently trying to regain her composure. "My name's 'May' for a reason, you know. As in, you're supposed to _call_ me that."

Drew chuckled. "Alright, fine..." May seemed to calm down, managing a smile. "I'll only call you 'Citrus' _some_ of the time, okay?"

May nodded smugly. "Okay." A moment passed, then it seemed to click. She instantly frowned. "Hey!"

Drew couldn't help but laugh; Lord, she was so funny when she got angry... and only _he_ seemed to have the power – and the guts, for that matter – to tease her into such a rage. Was he seriously the only one who enjoyed her anger this much? Surely, someone else did too. It really wasn't fair to keep all this enjoyment to himself... not that he'd really _want_ to share it, of course.

He wiped a tear from his eye. "Heh... okay, sorry." May gave him a surprised look and he wondered why... until he realised that he'd just apologised... which was very un-Drew-like... Ah well... he didn't care very much. "How was your party yesterday?"

May's confused expression disappeared and she smiled sheepishly. "Heh... it was okay..."

Drew raised an eyebrow. "Only okay?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong! I had fun, _sure_ I did!"

"But...?"

May glanced at the floor for a moment, then looked back at him. "Well..."

"What?"

May shook her head and smiled. "Oh, its nothing! Me, Ash and Misty just ran into some trouble there, that's all!"

Drew blinked at her, his eyebrows slowly creasing into a frown. "What _kind_ of trouble?"

"Heh... well, see... we went to the town ice rink for my party... then we stupidly left my presents on the table while we went off to skate... and my presents almost got stolen."

Drew's eyes widened in shock. "Stolen?"

May nodded. "Mmm hmm... but we caught up with the thieves before they could make off with them."

"Who were they?"

"... Well... I didn't know them. They were called Jessie and James... but the guy behind it all was a guy I'd met before called Harley. All three were teenagers, by the way."

Drew's frown had gotten deeper. "Go on."

May blinked at him before continuing. "Well, Harley managed to... upset me with the things he said..." May shifted on her feet, looking uncomfortable, and Drew felt a surge of rage pass through him. That... utter... jerk. "And Misty... beat him up for it." She chuckled slightly and Drew's rage lessened. He couldn't resist smirking there. "Then Jessie and James ran away with my presents, so we ran after them."

Drew's eyes widened. "You did?"

May nodded. "Yep. We chased them all over town. Well, it _felt_ like all over town..."

"And what happened next?"

"The police officer that my friend, Brock, likes recognised them and started chasing them... and they dropped my presents as they ran away."

Drew laughed; now _that_ was an ending worth waiting for. "Well, I'm glad you got your presents back."

May beamed. "Thanks! So am I." She gave him another twirl. "This outfit was in the bags they stole... so I would have _lost_ this if they'd gotten away."

Drew frowned again, very slightly, as a guilty feeling gnawed away at his heart; if only he _had_ swallowed his pride and gone to the party... then he would've been there to help her fend off those horrible people. He hung his head, his lime-coloured bangs falling over his matching eyes. "I'm sorry..."

"Huh? What for?" There was a slight pause, then, when she spoke again, her voice was quieter. "Drew? What's wrong?"

Drew lifted his head, scowling, not at her, but at himself. "If I'd been there, I could've... I would've..." He turned away, unable to continue. "I wouldn't have let those jerks do that to you."

There was another moment of silence, so he looked back at May. His eyes widened when he saw the shocked expression on her face. A moment passed before pride kicked in. Straightened himself up again, he flicked his hair, a smirk now etched onto his face... although it was slightly painful to keep it there.

"Drew?"

"Heh... yeah..." He turned to his locker and unlocked it. "So, what lessons you got this morning?" As he grabbed his books, he, once again, heard nothing but silence. Closing his locker again and locking it, he looked back at May.

Her eyes were still glued on his face. An awkward moment passed... then she smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. It took him aback slightly. "Aww, really, Drew?"

"... Uh..." He ran his free hand through his lime green locks sheepishly. "Yeah... sure..."

May giggled girlishly. "Well, thanks! Nice to know you care about me!"

_Okay..._ Drew thought, _**now**__ I'm embarrassed..._ When he felt the blood rush to his face, he really wanted to kick himself. Instead, he turned away.

May's giggle turned into a laugh. "Oh, don't tell me the great Drew's blushing!"

Drew, now facing away from May, clenched his eyes shut. "Don't be ridiculous." _Ugh, __**why**__ did my voice have to waver? Don't waver, voice!_

May continued to laugh. "Aww... Dwewykins is going soft..."

Drew imagined both a sweat-drop _and_ a popping vein on his head. "'Dwewykins'?" Suddenly, her comment registered in his brain and his eyes snapped open. "I'm not going soft!"

"Ha, yeah right!"

He could practically _hear_ May sticking out her tongue. He needed to return the game to his own playing field, _now_... so, taking deep breaths to calm himself, he turned back round to face May, his trademark smirk back on his face. "Shouldn't be long now, before the bell rings, right, Citrus?"

Immediately, an annoyed expression appeared on her face. "Stop calling me 'Citrus'!" For a third time that morning, she puffed out her cheeks. "My name's 'May' and you know it, Grass Head."

Drew nearly fell over. "'Grass Head'?"

May smirked and flicked her head to the side, leering at him through the corner of her eyes. "Well, yeah... I mean, come on, you gotta admit... your hair _does_ look like grass."

Drew scowled at her; no one insulted his hair! His hair was awesome! It was thick and full, just like his father's, and his favourite shade of green, like his mother's... although, thinking about it, it was probably only his favourite colour _because_ it was the colour of his hair...

_Gah! That's not the point, Drew! Not the point at all!_

For the second time that morning, he felt blood rush to his face... yet, this time, it wasn't from embarrassment, but from anger.

May grinned at him, showing off her teeth as she did so. "See? You just got a taste of what it's like to be _me_... always feeling angry because a certain _someone_ always refuses to call me by my name... instead labelling me with stupid nicknames related to what I look like." She closed her eyes and raised her head up high, looking extremely smug. "Not nice, is it, Snot Eyes? Don't like it, do you, Green Bean?"

"Alright, enough!" Drew narrowed his eyes and glanced in the other direction.

May laughed. "See? See? Not nice!"

Drew huffed, then sighed. "Okay, okay, fine..." He glanced at her, noticing that she'd opened her eyes again, then gave a light smirk. "But 'Citrus' really does suit you, you know."

May looked down at her outfit, then looked back up at him and shrugged. "Well, maybe it does... but, if _you_ don't like _me_ calling you 'Green Bean', then why should _I_ be happy with _you_ calling me 'Citrus'?"

Drew groaned. "But 'Green Bean' sounds a lot more... insulting than 'Citrus' does."

May mimicked him and also groaned. "Fine... then I'll call you..." She paused, then smiled. "'Greenie'."

Drew smirked. "No way."

May looked slightly bothered. "Alright, alright... um..." She paused again. "Then how about..." Her smile returned. "'Meadow Head'?"

Drew faltered, his voice dying in his throat. "'Meadow Head'?"

May was back to beaming at him. "Yeah! It suits you, 'cause by 'head', I don't just mean your hair. Your eyes are on your head too." She closed her eyes and nodded, then snapped them open again. "That's it! I now officially dub you 'Meadow Head'!"

Drew wasn't able to respond to that remark, but, fortunately, he was spared from speaking when he heard the bell for his first class ring. Sighing in relief, he turned round and headed in that direction.

'_Meadow Head'... Jeez... I'm never gonna live __**that**__ one down... although... I suppose I deserve it for always calling __**her**__ stupid things like 'Red' and 'Miss Colour Clash On Legs'..._ He shook his head. _No, surely I don't..._ He smirked. _But I did have a lot of fun these past five months with all these nicknames..._ He gave a light sigh, an ironic smile on his face. _I guess I can't deny her a little revenge. If I don't, then I'll only be a hypocrite..._

* * *

May had already been to her first two lessons of the day, meaning that it was now recess, so, once she'd put her books away... and, of course, called Drew 'Meadow Head' and been called 'Citrus' in return... she headed outside to meet up with Ash and Misty.

Once she spotted them sitting on a bench, she went up to them. "Hey, guys!" she said cheerfully.

They both turned to look at her and smiled. "Hey, May," Misty replied.

Ash shifted closer to Misty to make some space. "Sit down, May," he said, gesturing to the empty space.

"Thanks," May replied, nodding and sitting down.

"You know, I _still_ love your new outfit, May," Misty said. "You showed us this morning, but I just can't get over how different it makes you look."

Ash nodded in agreement. "Yeah, you look great in it."

May giggled. "Thanks, you two."

Ash suddenly looked thoughtful. "Say, Drew will have seen it by now, right? What did he say about it?"

May shook her head, chuckling. "He said it was 'interesting'... but he was disappointed that he couldn't call me 'Red' or 'Bloodbath' or whatever anymore."

Misty laughed. "Ha! Is that so? Well, that's good!"

"Yeah, but he came up with a _new_ name for me to make up for it."

"What's that then?" Ash asked.

May placed a hand on her heart. "Meet Citrus, the girl in orange and green!"

Misty's eyes widened as May put her hand back down. "'Citrus'? He called you 'Citrus'?"

May laughed again. "Oh, don't worry... I got him back." They both shot her intrigued looks, so she grinned an evil grin in return. "His name's now 'Meadow Head'."

There was a pause between her two best friends as they processed this information... then both burst into fits of laughter. May joined in on the laughing.

"No... way!" It looked like Ash was dying of laughter.

_Well,_ May thought, still laughing herself, because it didn't look like either of her friends would stop any time soon, _I'm glad everything's... __**fairly**__ back to normal after yesterday's ordeal... though, for some reason, I really don't want to tell Ash and Misty about how Drew got angry over how Harley got Jessie and James to steal my birthday presents. It feels more like a personal thing to keep between the two of us. Besides, Drew wouldn't appreciate it, I'm sure. He's a guy with so much male pride, it could fill up the whole of North America._

"Oh!" Misty suddenly said. "May! You'll never guess what happened to Ash in his English class this morning!"

May had finally managed to calm down. "What?"

"He'd been bantering with Gary... so Gary pulled his chair over and Ash fell to the floor!" Both girls burst into fits of laughter again.

"Aw, come on!" Ash complained. "It wasn't funny!" He paused, then lowered his voice. "It was embarrassing..."

This had to be one of the best days of May's life at Blue Moon Junior High; _she'd_ managed to embarrass _Dre_w, _Misty_ had managed to embarrass _Ash_... and, through the difficulty in breathing and the bright red face, she could not, for the life of her, ever remember laughing so hard.


	30. Mid term Crisis

Author's notes: Hi, everybody! :D (is glared at) Hey, sorry! Lol. I know I haven't updated this thing in months, but I hit writer's block... and then college started stressing me out with its essays... and coursework... and applications to university... (groan)... and, of course, that did nothing to provide me with inspiration. I'm sorry. (bows politely)

I also apologise for the stupid chapter. It has no plotline and it could possibly be a bit rusty, due to my long absence. Aheh. Hopefully, it's okay, though. :)

Lastly, this chapter is dedicated to candyluver, since it was her begging and pleading that kicked me into gear and inspired me to write this (at a very inappropriate time of night, may I add. Lol)... and the chapter title is a new spin on the term 'mid-life crisis'. (I went through hell to write this, lemme tell ya... so be grateful! I command thee!)

**Chapter Thirty: Mid-term Crisis**

It was over a week after May had shown up to school, dressed in her new orange and green outfit... showing it off to Drew whilst explaining all the events of her birthday party and witnessing his rather satisfying reaction to the news... as well as inventing a new nickname for him to get him back about the new one he'd invented for her... and it was Monday morning. However, it was no ordinary Monday morning.

"Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man, oh, man..." May Styles chanted, pure panic causing her blood to pump through her veins at alarming levels. "I can't take this..."

May felt unbridled terror grip her heart, clenching harder and harder until it was difficult to breathe; this was no day to relax... this was a day of pure evil... evil that loomed over her with a sinisterly evil grin, baiting her to walk forward to her ultimate doom.

She, Ash and Misty had arrived at school one hour early and were now sitting on a bench in the schoolyard, Ash on the left, Misty in the middle and May on the right, each of them holding a book, Ash's being History, Misty's being Geography and May's being English. May's book was shaking in her hands; she was physically unable to hold it still, she was so terribly frightened. This was the absolute worst day of her life, worse than anything else she had ever experienced.

"May, can you please be quiet?" Misty asked in a rather icy tone, staring at the book in her hands very intently.

May cringed, clenching her eyes shut; she could no longer look at her English book... because it reminded her of the horror that was awaiting her in fifteen minutes time... Wait, _fifteen minutes_? Was that _all_?

"Oh, no... oh, no..." She could feel herself starting to sweat in her panic. "I can't do this, I can't do this... I'm not ready... I _so_ can't do this..."

She wanted nothing more than for the floor beneath her to open up as a matter-disintegrating black hole and swallow her completely. That way, she wouldn't have to face... _that_... the ultimate evil...

As she began to grind her teeth back and forth against each other in a frantic attempt to calm her frazzled nerves, Ash looked up from his History book at her.

"May, calm down," he said gently. "You'll do fine, I'm sure... but it's not gonna help if you're so nervous."

May gave a tense laugh. "Nervous? _Nervous_? Who's nervous? I'm not nervous!" Ash shot her a disbelieving look. She screeched and waved the book around. "I'm freaking terrified!"

"May!" Misty snapped. "Shut up. I'm trying my best to study here. We have next to no time left before we have to head over to the gym."

May screeched again, instantly locking her eyes onto the pages; she _had_ to stop fooling around and continue to cram as much information down her throat as she possibly could! This was important! But... she was so scared! How could she possibly cram if she was _scared_?

She groaned pitifully, desperately fighting back the urge to burst into tears. Clenching her eyes shut again, she tilted her head downwards and called out, "I hate mid-terms!"

* * *

Misty Waterflower tightened her grip on the book she was holding, a vein in her forehead beginning to throb. Was May _incapable_ of shutting up? She had to cram! She _had_ studied a bit before now... unlike Mr. Video Games Are More Important Than Studying sitting next to her... but she was still very worried that she might not do as well as she wanted to in these stupid exams... and her stress was rapidly morphing into anger... that anger right now being directed at May for blurting out her worries. Obviously, the brown-haired girl's stress had morphed into panic... and it was seriously ticking Misty off.

She ground her teeth together, trying her best to focus her attention on her last-minute studying. She was determined to do well on this exam, even if it killed her... and anyone who disturbed said last-minute studying was just _asking_ for trouble.

"I'm so scared!" May said. "What if I don't do well? What would my mom say? She'd be so disappointed in me! I can't have her disappointed _again_! I didn't do very well in one exam in the past... and she gave me this look that said I was a disappointment!" She made a wailing noise that pierced through Misty's brain, causing her to clench her teeth harder. "I can't handle this! What am I gonna do? How am I gonna get through this? I'm gonna fail, I just know it! I can already feel it! I'm gonna-"

"Oh, for the love of..." Misty muttered before an outburst of fury escaped her lips. "_Will you shut up, May_?"

Her breath came in rapid bursts through her nostrils, her heart thumping against her ribcage at a speed she was sure was unhealthy. There was too much blood pumping through her veins to think straight and _this_ was now the result of it... but she had to admit, it darn well felt good to release some steam. The girl dressed in orange and green shot her a terrified look before forcing herself to look back at her book. The terrified expression didn't diminish in the slightest, however.

"Misty, cool it, will ya?" Ash asked.

Misty felt her blood boil at his insolence. How _dare_ he tell her to cool it! He had _no idea_ what she was going through! She was trying _so hard_ to stay calm... to stay focused... but May was not helping and she had to shut the little annoyance up before she exploded from the stress!

She spun round furiously and glared daggers at him. "Shut your mouth, Ash Ketchum!"

She felt her eyes burn holes into the boy, scorching through his clothes and cremating his very soul... and she felt a strange sense of power when he flinched. He then turned away from her, his eyes now betraying his fear of the red-headed girl sitting next to him, and focused his full attention on the book in his hands.

* * *

Ash Ketchum seriously couldn't take this; his two best friends were going mental over some stupid mid-terms. Personally, he did feel a tiny bit of worry, but he wasn't allowing it to consume him, like _they_ were... and unlike _them_, _he_ hadn't studied.

He stared at the History book in front of him, his dark brown eyes skimming over the words, his brain barely interested. Honestly, he was willing to let Fate take its course. He just wanted this week over and done with, so he could go back to playing his video games without even the _slightest_ nagging voice in the back of his mind... pestering him to study instead of having fun.

He glanced over at Misty and May again; Misty was gripping her Geography book with a force that could break bones, her muscles tensed, her jaw clenched and her eyebrows deeply furrowed. He was a bit worried for the Geography book; if her iron-tight grip didn't break it in half, he was sure that her intense gaze would cause it to burst into flames.

May, on the other hand, had turned a sickly white colour, looking as though she might throw up at any moment. She was fidgeting uncontrollably... and shaking so badly that he was sure was going to drop her English book... as well as muttering sentences every minute or so about how scared she was and how she couldn't do this.

If Ash could sweat-drop, then he _would_ have done; what was their problem, really? The mid-terms weren't _that_ big of a deal. They needed to be done, anyway; the teachers needed to test the students and see how well they were doing at their subjects...

He sighed; every year, Misty did this. She'd get so stressed out and aggravated that she'd take it out on anyone who did so much as speak to her. Sure, he was used to her yelling at him and hitting him, but she was always ten times worse when it came to exams. May, however... he seriously had no idea that she got so darn scared when it came to exams. What on Earth was wrong with the two of them?

He smirked very slightly to himself; maybe he'd landed himself with the only two... only two... He paused; what was that word? 'Non-working'? 'Dysfunctional'? 'Broken'? He thought about it for a minute. 'Defective', that was it! He'd landed himself, as friends, the only two defective students in Blue Moon Junior High. He chuckled to himself at the thought.

He regretted it immediately, however, when Misty turned to give him that blazing glare again. He shrunk under her gaze... and suddenly felt two inches tall.

"_What the heck are you sniggering about_?" she shrieked, raising a very tightly clenched fist.

Ash's eyes widened. _Oh, crud!_ he thought. _Not the exam stress punch! Anything but that!_

'Exam stress punches', as he liked to call them, hurt a heck of a lot more than regular punches. Regular punches he could handle; they often stemmed from playfulness or mild annoyance... but 'exam-stress' punches? They stemmed from stress-induced fury desperate to find a release any way it could. Ash jumped out of his seat, dropping his book on the floor in the process, and shielded himself with his arms.

Misty merely glared extremely heatedly at him, her teeth gritted and her clenched fist tightening further... so much so that her knuckles turned white. Ash attempted a pleading look, making sure to look her directly in her greenish-blue eyes. After a moment or so, the eye contact appeared to work, as Misty lowered her fist, loosening her grip, and went back to staring at her book.

Ash gave a deep sigh of relief, glad that he'd gotten away without any pain. He then imagined himself sweat-dropping again; why the heck he felt the way he did about her, he'd never understand...

* * *

Once Drew O'Cadhla had climbed out of his mother's silver car, he flipped his lime green hair confidently, a smirk on his face and a green Flygon pen held loosely in his other hand. He was _more_ than ready for these stupid mid-terms. They'd be an absolute breeze for him, him being one of the smartest students in his year. It was natural, really... like his good looks. He didn't really _need_ to study much, as his wonderfully high I.Q. always glided him through every exam... just like he didn't really _need_ to make any modifications on his face to make every girl in school fall at his feet.

"Good luck, Drew," his mother, Gabrielle, said to him through the open car door.

He chuckled in amusement, turning to face her. "Thanks, Mom," he replied, "but who needs luck when you have skill?"

Gabrielle rolled her violet eyes, sighing. "Drew, you're so arrogant sometimes, it's unbelievable." She shook her head. "Your I.Q. may be high, but it's not _that_ high. You're not set to become the next Einstein."

Drew huffed, flipping his hair a second time. "Way to be reassuring, Mom." Sarcasm oozed off his voice. "Bye."

He closed the door and gave a small wave of the hand, waiting for her to wave back before turning on his heel and heading towards the school. He soon heard the engine start up and the car drive away into the distance.

He strode confidently towards the gym, knowing that he had it within him to pass every single one of his exams. That was one of the things he was so well liked for, besides his fantastically great looks: his intelligence. He hardly ever studied and still managed to get top grades every time. They were never perfect scores, but that hardly mattered to him. What mattered was the sight of those A and B grades that he was always achieving... and seeing the fangirls swoon over his perfection. He smirked to himself; oh, now he really _was_ getting carried away... 'Perfection'? He chuckled.

_Ah, fine..._ he thought, _so I have a swelled head. Big deal. A little confidence never hurt anybody._

Finally, he'd reached the gym. Walking over to the door, he felt rather like a king as several girls parted to let him pass, smiling him with their eyes sparkling... including that girl he kept forgetting the name of. What was it again? Bra... Brin... Bri...

"Oh, man, I'm so nervous..." a familiar female voice said in a panicked tone.

He turned and saw three familiar figures standing nearby, one dressed in blue, one dressed in yellow and one dressed in orange and green. He smirked, imagining the immense fun he could have talking to them, and walked over.

He kept his tone cool as he leaned against the wall. "Hey."

All three turned to look at him and three pairs of eyebrows shot up. "Drew!" May said.

Ash gave a warm, welcome smile. "Hey, Drew!" he said. "How's it going?"

Drew blinked stupidly, actually falling speechless at being greeted so nicely by a boy who used to despise him. However, he soon recovered and shrugged. "Not bad. You three ready for your tests?"

May's eyes bulged from their sockets, pure unbridled terror shining deep within them. "Oh, man... oh, man..."

Drew raised an eyebrow, slightly concerned at his crush's behaviour. "You okay, May?"

May shook her head frantically. "No..." She knocked her clenched fists together nervously, one of which was holding a purple Beautifly pen, before placing them under her chin. "I'm gonna fail... I am _so_ gonna fail..."

Misty growled in frustration. "Shut it, May," she muttered darkly. "_None_ of us are gonna fail as long as you shut up. You're stressing us all out with your whining."

"Guys..." Ash said with a nervous smile, waving his hands around, one of which was clutching a black Swellow pen, "let's just stay calm, okay? We don't wanna lose our cool here..."

Misty rounded on him. "Shut up, Ash! And do _not_ tell me to calm down!" She punched him in the arm rather forcefully with the hand that was holding a blue Azurill pen.

"Ow!" Ash rubbed his sore arm and shot a glare at the red-head.

A smirk slowly crept onto Drew's face; oh, this was priceless. The three of them were all suffering from exam stress... particularly Misty and May... and he knew he should feel sympathetic and offer support... but he honestly didn't feel like it. His pride had swelled from their worries, as _he_ already _knew_ that he wouldn't fail. There was just no way in the world... so why not mess with them just a little bit?

He flipped his hair, slouching further against the wall casually. "Gee, maybe May's right..." he said with mock sympathy, "maybe she really _is_ gonna fail."

May gasped in horror, gaping at him with her mouth open and her eyes wide. Ash, on the other hand, looked affronted.

"No, she's not!" He turned to May and smiled. "Don't listen to him, May. You'll do fine."

A wailing noise escaped May's mouth... and Drew, highly amused, decided to twist the knife even further. "Her lack of confidence will be her downfall. Her fear will take over her... consume her... until she's no longer able to breathe..." May made some sort of squeaking sound. Drew shrugged. "She's a hopeless case."

Misty looked outraged, raising a clenched fist. "How dare you! You insolent, cocky, arrogant-"

He waggled a finger at her. "_Confident_." He ran the same hand through his soft green hair. "Confidence is always a good thing to have, Ginger Locks." Misty's face contorted in fury, her eyes blazing his skin... yet he wasn't intimidated. He was more amused than anything.

"That's it, you little flea bag! You are _dead_!"

She flung forward, fully intending to punch him, by the looks of it, which made him flinch backwards, but Ash dove at his friend, grabbed her arms and held her firm.

"Misty!" Ash yelled. "Calm down! You're causing a scene!"

Misty's face turned bright red as she squirmed in his grasp. "Don't you dare tell me to calm down when I'm trying to punch the lights out of this jerk! He's making fun of May when she's _clearly_ freaking terrified of these stupid darn freaking exams!" She squirmed harder. "For gosh sakes, Ash Ketchum, _let go of me_!"

Ash really looked like he was struggling to hold onto his female friend... and Drew had to chuckle at that; how embarrassing for a boy to be physically weaker than a girl. That defeated the whole purpose of being a boy... Well, then again, he'd always seen Ash as somewhat of a girly boy anyway... never hanging out with boys... spending all his time with Misty... and then May went and joined the duo when she entered junior high... making it two girls to one boy... Drew sniggered.

"Drew..." He looked up at Ash. "You know what they say... 'Pride comes before a fall.' Your arrogance is going to cost you, for sure."

Drew rolled his eyes, then tilted his head to the side and smirked. "Sure... whatever, Ashy-boy."

Ash's eyebrows shot up in surprise before his cheeks tinted pink. "Wha-? What did you just-?"

Drew folded his arms across his chest. "Gary and I get along better than you think." He paused for dramatic effect, watching Ash's face slowly screw up into a scowl. Drew's smirk widened maliciously. "He _really_ thinks you _suit_ the little nickname he gave you... and I'd have to agree."

Ash was clearly about to say something, but stopped when Misty ceased her mad rampage and finally relaxed in his grip; her shoulders slumped and she took a deep breath, calming herself. He appeared to see this as a good time to let go of her, because that's exactly what he did.

Suddenly, a male teacher that Drew recognised, but didn't know the name of, walked out of the gym. "Okay, you can all come in now," he said before turning round and walking back inside. The students started to follow him.

"Oh, man... oh, man... oh, man... no..." May chanted, appearing to hyperventilate and, horribly, looking physically sick.

Drew eyed her warily as Ash trundled inside, shortly followed by Misty; May remained rooted to the floor where she stood. He sighed, running a hand through his hair; he couldn't leave her like this. He now realised that it was horribly cruel of him to taunt her the way he had. She was obviously terrified out of her mind and he'd taken advantage of that, simply because he wasn't the slightest _bit_ nervous.

He shuffled his feet on the floor, a guilty feeling now gnawing away at him; how could he have been so cruel? It hadn't mattered to him how _other_ people were reacting to the arrival of the mid-terms... all he'd been bothered about was himself... and his arrogance... no, _confidence_! _Confidence_! He paused a minute, thinking it over, then sighed; oh, who was he kidding? It was arrogance, pure and simple.

"Uh, May?" The brown-haired girl slowly looked up at him. He shook his head. "Look, just ignore what I said. I was only kidding around... I didn't mean it." He paused, then smiled. "I'm sure you'll do fine. You've just got to control your nerves. Don't let _them_ control _you_... okay?" May nodded, slowly and silently. "Good." He began to follow the crowd inside, yet continued to look at her. "And good luck."

"... Th-Thanks..." She managed a small smile. "Good luck to you too."

Drew was very satisfied with that reply, so he gave a two-fingered salute and turned round, falling in line behind the other students as he entered the building.

Now, it was time to face the mid-terms... and Lord knows he was going to face them head on! Like a leopard charging at a helpless deer! And, as his confidence... or arrogance... told him, he was going to succeed. He glanced backwards; he just hoped, secretly, that May would too...


	31. Results of Chaotic Proportions

Author's note: Yo. Long story short, I hold very little interest for this fic now. If you wish to throw ideas at me and/or pester with pleas for updates, both would be greatly appreciated. You see, I work best when booted into gear. Lol.

Also, college coursework is finally completed. Huzzah! Now, all I have to worry about is exams and hopefully getting into university next year.

I thought I'd try something different in this chapter. XD This one is for all the reviewers who wanted real Pokemon!

By the way, does anyone want to be my beta-reader? For this fic or otherwise? I've decided that I need one. Thanks!

Lastly, the chapter title refers to two different kinds of results: exam results and the chaotic results of the strong emotions that May's been feeling lately.

**Chapter Thirty-One: Results of Chaotic Proportions**

It was a week after Ash, Misty, May and Drew had taken all of their mid-term exams... May being thankful that Drew had only teased her once about her primal fear of taking exams... and it was the first Monday morning of February... although, on this Monday morning, May was somewhere other than her comfortable bed covered by a pink blanket... or, at least, she _thought_ she was...

* * *

_May felt happy and carefree as she stood on a grassy area of land as high in the sky as land could go. She breathed in the fresh mountain air as she gazed over the beautiful scenery and wondered how life could be any more perfect._

"_Nya!" a cute high-pitched voice called out._

"_Huh?" May asked in surprise. She looked around her, fully expecting to see something nearby, but couldn't see a single soul anywhere. Suddenly, she felt something pawing at her sneaker, so she looked down. Spotting a Skitty, she smiled in joy. "Oh, how cute! A Skitty!" She bent down and picked the Skitty up. "Hey there, little guy..." The Skitty looked displeased. Realising her mistake, May chuckled. "Or girl..." The Skitty smiled and wagged its tail. "I've always wanted a Skitty. You wanna come with **me**?"_

_The Skitty blushed happily. "Nya!" _

_May giggled like a little schoolgirl. "Yay!" She spun around in circles. "I caught a Skitty!" Suddenly, something landed on her head, so, confused, she stopped spinning. "Huh?"_

"_Beautifly!" the creature on her head cried in a shrill voice._

_May gasped, overjoyed. "A Beautifly! Oh, wow! This is my lucky day! My two favourite Pokemon came to join me!"_

"_Beau!" The weight on her head disappeared and she watched the Beautifly fly away from her._

_She giggled again, now in a playful mood. "Hey, come back, Beautifly!" She happily chased after it. "Come back!"_

"_Rawr!" another voice said._

"_Nya!" the Skitty replied._

_May, still running, looked down at her feet to see a Glaceon running beside her, and beamed. "My favourite Eeveelution!" She grinned. "Now my life is __**definitely**__ perfect."_

_All of sudden, the scenery changed; the bright blue skies and beautiful green land disappeared and was replaced by a black and purple void. May's mood dropped in an instant and, as soon as she felt the Skitty's weight vanish from her arms, she halted in her tracks. She looked around her, unsure of where she was or what she was supposed to do. Where on Earth was she? And how would she get out of this strange void?_

_Cold laughter rang out around her, causing her back to snap to attention and her heart to pound in her chest. Volcanoes suddenly sprang up from the ground all around her, simultaneously exploding in a deadly display of raw power. Lava erupted everywhere and May's fear intensified. _

"_You fail!" a shrill voice called out before she felt herself being lifted off the ground. She screamed as she watched herself float higher and higher, then spin several times in mid-air. She looked up and saw that it was the Beautifly using Psychic on her, its eyes glowing a bright bluish-white._

"_You fail!" a high-pitched voice called out before the Skitty leaped towards her and used its tail to give her a Double Slap to the face. She was now feeling really scared... as well as nauseous from the high altitude and sore from the attack._

"_You fail!" a gruff voice called out before her right leg was frozen solid. She immediately felt the Psychic leave her and she tumbled towards the ground, falling and falling... but the ground was no longer there; she just kept falling. Then she saw the Glaceon run towards her, firing an Ice Beam at her left leg and freezing that one in place too. _

_Terror gripped her heart. "No..." she said, beginning to cry, "no!"_

_All three voices rang out on chorus, "You fail! You fail! You fail!"_

_May suddenly felt herself back on the ground, both her legs still frozen... but what she saw next chilled her to the bone and made her blood run cold: three huge, much larger than normal creatures were looming over her, blanketing her in their shadows. She cautiously looked up at their faces and saw the evil smirks of a Venusaur, a Charizard and a Blastoise. _

"_You... fail!" the Charizard roared, swiping his clawed hand backwards and preparing to strike her._

_She squirmed with desperation against the ice holding her down. "No! Stay away!" The Charizard swung its claw towards her. "No! __**No**_!"

* * *

May's eyes snapped open in her terror and she quickly glanced around her, panting slightly. As soon as she took note of her surroundings... a comfortable bed in dark room with her favourite teddy bear lying next to her... she relaxed, sinking in a relieved heap into her pillow.

_Whoa..._ she thought, feeling rather shaken, _that was scary..._ She blinked. _Hold on... did I just have a nightmare about __**Pokemon**__, of all things?_ She almost felt the desire to laugh at herself. _And what was it about them that was so scary again?_ She took a minute to think it over, then, with horror, suddenly remembered. _Oh, __**crud**__! Today's the day I get my mid-term results in the mail! Oh, crud... oh, crud... oh, crud..._

She lay there for a while longer, worrying over how she might have done on her mid-terms. She had no idea how long she lay there, staring at the wall, but, eventually, she heard the familiar sound of her alarm clock radio going off... and jumped in shock. She then scolded herself for being startled by such a stupid thing as she tried to calm her thumping heart.

"Like a rollercoaster ride..." the alarm clock sang, "holding on white knuckles like, 'Whoa, whoa... whoa, whoa...'"

* * *

All throughout the day, May was nervous. She wanted to stay calm, but the agonising wait was racking her nerves; she had to endure school all day before she'd be able to go home and check her mid-term results. It was painful... and only making her feel sick to her stomach with worry.

"You'll be fine, May," Misty told her at lunchtime, a fry on the end of her fork.

"Yeah!" Ash added, his mouth full of meat pie, which somewhat disgusted May. "Don't..." He swallowed his food. "Don't worry about it!"

May sighed, twirling her fork in her mashed potatoes. "That's easy for _you_ guys to say..." she replied, "you two didn't freak out at the time of the mid-terms..."

Ash laughed. "Are you kidding me? Misty _totally_ freaked out! She was so ticked off, I thought she was gonna knock my eyes right out of their sockets!"

There was silence for a minute... and May vaguely wondered why Misty wasn't hitting Ash for making fun of her like that. She glanced up and saw that Misty's mouth had clamped shut and that she was glaring at Ash. She was also, worryingly, twitching slightly, as if trying to restrain herself.

"Misty?"

Ash had a slightly scared expression on his face. "Uh... are you okay?"

There was another pause. "Hmph!" Misty said moodily, closing her eyes and turning away from Ash.

* * *

Ash sighed and stabbed at the last bit of his meat pie with his fork; what was wrong with Misty lately? He was so used to her hitting him every time he made fun of her... but ever since New Year's Day... the day that he'd been awkwardly trying to forget, because of his embarrassing experience... she seemed to have been restraining herself... as though she was _forcing_ herself not to hit him... Why?

He glanced up at the red-head, remembering everything that the two of them had been through over the years; they'd had their bad times... and their arguments... but, in the end, he was glad to be her best friend. She may have hit him sometimes... but he certainly couldn't forget the things she'd done for him. A few years ago, when he and May had both gotten food poisoning from the food in a restaurant, Misty had been so tender, caring and motherly to the both of them on the car ride back to their houses... telling them to rest, massaging their stomachs and providing funny stories to take their minds off the pain. He smiled; she could be really sweet when she wanted to be... but there was also that other side to her: the tomboyish side with a gung-ho attitude. She was never afraid to speak her mind and never hesitated to let you know that _she_ was in charge. She was powerful, yet gentle... except when she was in a really bad mood... but, then again, he liked that part of her too, to an extent; it kept his adrenaline pumping on a daily basis... whether from fear _or_ excitement.

_Hmm..._ he thought, suddenly remembering something, _didn't she say that her New Year's resolution was to be a nicer person?_ He gawked at her. _Could __**that**__ possibly be why she hasn't punched me in a while?_ He picked up his carton of orange juice and took a sip through the straw, staring down at the food on his tray._ I wonder..._

"So..." May's timid voice asked, "how about it?"

Ash looked up at her, completely lost. "Hmm?"

"Yeah, sounds good!" Misty replied. "What do _you_ think, Ash?"

He looked at her, still lost. "Uh... about what?"

She lowered her eyebrows and eyelids at him, yet made no move to smack him upside the head like she used to do. Her mouth, however, twitched in annoyance. "May asked if we wanted to check our results _together_ after school... 'cause she doesn't want to do it on her own."

Now he understood. "Oh!" He turned to May and smiled. "Yeah, sure!"

May smiled back. "Great!" she replied. "Well..." She thought about something for a few moments. "How about we meet outside the convenience store?" She suddenly looked bashful. "I thought we could maybe check our results, then go home." She paused. "If they're bad, I can run away and cry." She chuckled.

Misty made a tutting noise. "May! They're not going to be bad. Trust me on this, you'll do fine."

May gave a deep sigh. "I hope you're right, Misty..."

* * *

May was finally outside the convenience store, her report card containing her mid-term results in her slightly shaking hands. Ash and Misty were both standing in front of her, holding their own report cards. She was happy that she wouldn't be facing this torture alone, but was also worried that she'd have to reveal pitiful grades to her best friends. She'd had an internal battle during lunch trying to decide whether or not to face it alone... and, after weighing all the pros and cons, had decided that she would prefer to be with Ash and Misty.

"Okay..." Misty said steadily, "is everybody ready to see our mid-term results? Ash?"

Ash nodded. "I'm ready," he replied.

"May?"

May stared at the envelope in her hands, feeling her pulse quicken with anxiety. As she pictured the words of the Pokemon from her nightmare over and over again, she gripped the envelope tighter and scowled at it.

"_You fail! You fail! You fail!"_ the voices in her head chanted.

"Are you alright, May?"

May looked up at Misty. "Hmm?" She looked back down at the envelope. "Yeah... just... gimme a minute..."

* * *

"Thank you," the young African-American man behind the counter said to Drew when he'd handed over the desired amount of money. He then placed it in the till, took out the green-haired boy's change and handed it to him.

"Thanks," Drew said, pocketing the change with one hand and picking up the bottle of semi-skimmed milk that his mother had sent him to the store to buy with the other. He then began walking towards the door.

"Have a nice day!"

Drew lifted his free hand in the air to show the man that he'd indeed heard him and that he appreciated the nice send-off. As soon as he dropped his hand, however, his mind was suddenly plagued with thoughts of his mid-term results.

He'd done well in his mid-terms... _really_ well... but not as well as he would have liked... and certainly not as well as what was his usual standard. He got a couple of As, a load of Bs... and one C. He honestly couldn't remember the last time he'd gotten a C in an exam. He'd been disappointed with that... but then he'd looked closer and realised that _that_ particular exam had been the English exam that he'd taken _right after_ teasing May about her fear of exams. Karma had smacked him in the mouth with that one. He hadn't taken Ash's warning about pride coming before a fall and he was now paying for it...

He smirked; though, of course, _Ash_ wouldn't consider a C a punishment. It _was_ still a pass, after all... and he knew from being in most of Ash's classes that the boy wasn't really one for working hard. When everyone else would take notes, he'd sit there, staring at the wall and chewing the Swellow on the end of his pen.

As soon as he stepped out of the convenience store, the first thing he saw was Ash, Misty and May all standing outside. He was momentarily startled by the odd coincidence, but soon shook it off. Well, since they were there, he thought that he might as well go and talk to them, so he walked over behind May, who didn't have seem to have the slightest clue that he was there. Ash and Misty, however, looked up at him.

He reached out and rapped his fingers on May's bare shoulder. "Hey!"

She jumped with a yelp and spun in his direction with a glare on her face. As soon as she saw it was him, though, the glare turned into an expression of surprise. "Drew!" she said. "Hi."

He flipped his hair to assume his cool personality. "How's it going, May?"

She smiled, though somewhat uneasily, he noticed. "Um, okay, thanks."

He suddenly noticed the sealed envelope in her hands. He nodded towards it. "Mid-term results?" She nodded in response. "Pfft... you've not even opened them yet?"

She gave an annoyed pout that looked extremely childish, yet somehow cute. "I'm _about_ to!"

He flipped his hair again, as he simply loved doing. "Huh... well, _I_ got _great_ results, as can be expected." He looked over at Ash and Misty and saw them bearing expressions that clearly stated how unimpressed they were. He smirked at them before looking back at May. "Well, go on, then... open it."

"Alright, alright!"

She began to tear into her envelope and he noticed that Ash and Misty were doing the same. He then waited a moment as the three best friends pulled out their report cards and carefully read what was written on them. He watched with some fascination as May's expression changed from worry... to surprise... to shock... to pure joy. Her mouth spread wide open as though she'd just been given the best birthday present she could have ever wished for.

"... Well?"

May squealed in delight, leaping around like a complete lunatic. Drew flinched back, scared by the sudden outrageous outburst. Lord... who knew she was such a nut-job? His thoughts were cut short, however, when May dropped her report card and envelope on the floor, grabbed his wrists and danced around with him, flailing him in all directions. He had to fight to keep hold of his bottle of milk.

_Gack!_ Drew thought in his state of shock, his brain feeling like it was bouncing around inside his skull. _Just what is she __**doing**__?_

"I did it! I did it! _Yes_! No failing for me! _Yes_! In your face, Charizard!"

_... Eh?_ _Did she just say 'Charizard'?_

"Um, May!" Misty's worried voice called out. "You can stop now!"

"Yeah!" Ash's voice agreed. "Stop before you injure him!"

To Drew's great relief, May realised him from her grasp and picked her report card and envelope up off the floor. He blinked a few times, trying to rid himself of the dizziness, before he stood up straight. As he did, he found himself looking into the eyes of a blissfully happy May, whose face was bright red after her little victory dance. As cute as she looked all flushed in the face, he couldn't help but feel a bit angry.

"What the heck was that for?"

May giggled like a little schoolgirl. "Sorry..." she said, "I'm just really really happy!" She waved her report card around. "I got mostly Cs! And, although I got one D... which I'll retake in the summer... I got a B! In Art!" She danced on the spot. "I'm so happy!" She turned to Ash and Misty. "How did _you_ guys do?"

Misty was currently staring at Drew... and appeared to be trying to hold in a laugh for some reason. Drew felt like scowling at her, but was pretty drained from being forced to danced around like that.

"Um..." she said, clearing her throat, "well... I got a couple of Bs... a couple of Cs... and one A!"

"Wow! Congratulations! Ash?"

Ash gave a nervous laugh. "Eh, I didn't do so well. I got a few Cs... a few Ds... and one F. I'll have to retake that one."

"Yeah, well..." Misty said with a smirk, "that's what you get when you don't study!"

Ash was about to say something, but was interrupted by May. "Oh, don't worry, it's still pretty good! I'm proud of you guys."

Misty smiled. "Thanks, May." She then looked over at Drew and sniggered. "Um, Drew? I think you should know that your 'perfect image' has been shattered."

Drew frowned in confusion. "Say what?"

The red-head apparently couldn't contain herself any longer, because she burst into a fit of laughter. "You're hair's an absolute mess, Drew!"

Drew froze in horror as Ash and May looked at him; oh, Lord, no... his hair was a mess? He turned to look in the store window and saw that his hair was jutting out at odd angles. He felt mortified; he always worked hard every morning to make his hair look perfectly flat and beautiful... and, now, it looked horrendous.

Ash and May joined Misty by doubling over in laughter and pointing at the green bird's nest that was now sitting on top of his head.

"Nice one, May!" Ash said, nearly falling over. "You wrecked his hair!"

Drew felt blood rush to his face in his anger and embarrassment; he'd been utterly humiliated just now... and there probably wasn't much chance of him living it down anytime soon. He groaned, trying his best to smooth down his hair with his free hand; hopefully, he could salvage at least _some_ of his remaining dignity...


	32. A Prelude of Plans

Author's note: Hey, all!

First of all, I didn't keep track of the dates last chapter, so I didn't realise that the fic had crept into February. XD I've fixed that now. Starting from chapter 31, the BMJH gang are in February.

I wasn't able to mention it to you guys until now, but my exams are done and dusted and I'm waiting somewhat impatiently for the results. Hopefully, I'll get what I need to get into university. (crosses fingers)

Right, on with the chapter!

**Chapter Thirty-two: A Prelude of Plans**

It was a week after everyone in Blue Moon Junior High had gotten their mid-term results – and May had messed up Drew's hair in her joy at doing reasonably well – and it was now Monday morning again.

Drew scowled as he stared in a mixture of disgust and annoyance at the poster on the wall of the school; it was red with two overlapping pink hearts in every corner and blatantly advertised a Valentine's dance that Friday. When he'd been younger, he'd loved Valentine's Day, as it symbolised the same thing that his favourite flower did: love. However, as he'd gotten older and much more attractive, he'd gained an ever-increasing number of fangirls, which had completely ruined the beauty of the special day for him. The constant love that had been showered upon him had dulled the excitement that he'd always felt.

A group of girls nearby squealed and dashed towards him. He tried not to groan as he looked at them, but suddenly noticed that they were all wearing cheerleader outfits. Oh, great, it was _them_ again. A certain boy his age would not be happy about this.

"Hey, Drew!" one of them said excitedly.

"Hey..." he replied, not at all enthusiastic about their presence.

"You going to the dance on Friday?" another one asked, her eyes gleaming.

"I guess..."

"Ooh!" a third one said, waving her pink pom-poms around. "You wanna go with _me_ to the dance?"

"Tch," the first one said, "yeah right. He's going with _me_, right, Drewy?"

_Drewy?_ Drew thought, cringing. At this point, he really wanted to just turn around and bolt, but, for some reason, his legs wouldn't move.

The second one laughed. "Nah," she said, "he's going with _me_! I already got him a super-awesome present!"

"Or..." a fourth one said slyly, "we could _all_ go with him!"

"Ooh, yeah!" the other three said, giggling. "That's a _great_ idea!" Then the fourth joined in as they started chanting, to Drew's horror. "Drew! Drew! He's so cool! He's so awesome and he rules!"

Drew looked up and, as he suspected, Gary was standing in the distance, arms folded and glaring heatedly at him. Oh, great... the guy would think he'd stolen his fangirls, _yet again_...

He actually got along pretty well with Gary, when they were both alone – which, he had to admit, wasn't very often – and Gary felt like somewhat of a friend to him. Well, more like an acquaintance, really, but they'd had conversations about various things before, such as 'Ashy-boy'. The problem was that Gary's fangirls were a tad fickle; they liked _him_ almost as much as they liked Gary, so that tended to cause friction between the two boys... since Gary loved attention and would get very annoyed if anyone were to steal that attention away from him.

"Uh..." he said, forcing his brain to work, so that he could make his escape, "look..." He flipped his hair in an attempt to look dreamy enough to sway them. "Why don't you lovely ladies head back to Gary and we'll discuss this at a later date?" _Like **never**,_ he thought.

"Okay, Drew!" they crooned in perfect synchrony.

He tried not to cringe again, instead opting to turn around and walk off. He raised one hand in a half-hearted goodbye as he rounded the corner, then dropped his hand and quickened his pace down the corridor.

* * *

May felt rather excited as she sat with Ash and Misty at lunchtime, discussing the Valentine's dance that would be taking place in a few days. It had stated on the posters around the school that the students were to dress smartly for the occasion and that everyone was required to wear something either pink or red.

"I'm thinking of getting a red dress for the dance," she said before taking a sip of her blackcurrant juice.

"Yeah," Misty replied, "that would look really good on you."

Ash cracked open his can of Pepsi. "I think I'll just get a pants suit or something," he said. He took a swig of his Pepsi, then continued. "Maybe a black suit with a pink shirt or something. That's what _most_ of the guys are doing."

Misty sniggered. "How original of you. As for me, I want a _blue_ dress."

"Ooh!" May said, intrigued. "It's been a long time since I've seen you wear blue."

Misty nodded. "Yeah, I guess it _has_." She paused for a moment. "_Yellow_'s my favourite colour, but I'm in the mood for blue."

"It would capture your love of water _perfectly_, I'd say."

Misty chuckled. "Yeah, I do love water." A dreamy look crossed her eyes. "It all started when I was little, when my mom and dad took me scuba-diving."

Ash laughed. "Oh, yeah, I remember you telling us," he said.

"You got so attached to the beauty of the water and marine life that you fell in love with the colour blue," May added.

"As well as water and anything that lives in it."

Misty nodded again. "That's right," she replied.

"But what are you gonna do about the pink and red rule?" May asked.

Misty looked thoughtful for a moment. "I dunno. I'll think of something."

Honestly, May couldn't wait for this dance, because, this time, she had nothing to fear. Before the Christmas dance, she'd been worrying about Drew making fun of her because of her name, but, now, she didn't have that problem. The only thing that _was_ slightly bothering her was Valentine's Day itself; she did rather want to get into the spirit of the special day and give the one she liked a Valentine's card or something, but that person was Drew... and there was no way in the world that she'd give _him_ a Valentine's card, because then he'd know that she liked him and she would never ever _ever_ live it down. She knew that for a fact.

She pulled what would have resembled a scowl, had she not been trying to hide it from Ash and Misty; who knows how many Valentine's Day presents Drew would get from his large horde of fangirls. She didn't really like to think about it, but it couldn't be helped; he was a very attractive – and very smooth, when he wanted to be – guy, after all.

* * *

As Ash sat with Misty and May, the three of them chatting away happily about the upcoming Valentine's dance as they ate their school lunch, he wondered what to do about Valentine's Day. It was a special day marked for getting cards and presents for the person you liked... a day of confessions. However, he'd never before been tempted to buy anyone anything, as he wasn't a big fan of the holiday; he'd always found it way too sappy and romantic for his liking. Heck, he'd have much preferred it if it was a day to download rare Pokemon onto his DS Lite, then use them to battle other people's rare Pokemon.

He glanced at Misty; ever since he'd reached the conclusion a year ago that he loved her – and he was still occasionally struggling to come to terms with that word – he'd been considering so many things. One of them was to make a move on her and the other was to get her something for Valentine's Day. The problem with either of these is how she'd react to _him_, Ash Ketchum, her best friend, the guy who'd never shown much interest in girls, actually doing them.

Whenever he'd pictured either scenario, he'd imagined various reactions, sometimes good, sometimes bad. In a good scenario, she'd either blush happily, tell him that she returned the feelings, kiss him gently on the lips or all three. In a bad scenario, she'd either awkwardly tell him that she didn't return the feelings, hit him in a confused rage, give him the cold shoulder for ruining their friendship or all three.

He sighed; should he give it a try this year? He wasn't sure. He certainly didn't want a bad scenario to happen between them, because not only would it make him feel like the biggest loser on the planet, it would ruin the wonderfully strong friendship that they'd managed to build over the last six years.

_Why can't this be easy?_ he wondered. _It's such a simple thing to do: just get her a card... so why is it such a hard decision to make?_

"_So_," Misty said, then took a quick sip of her apple juice. She sighed in satisfaction before putting it back on her tray. "What do you guys say we go shopping for these outfits tonight?"

May nodded. "Yeah, okay," she replied.

"And if we don't find what we're looking for, we can try again on Wednesday." She looked directly at Ash and he felt something stir inside him at the expression in her beautiful greenish-blue eyes... which, he now realised, were the colour of the ocean. "What do you think, Ash?"

It took him a moment to snap out of his trance. "Uh, yeah, sure, Mist!" he replied. "Sounds good."

"I hope I find something with short sleeves," May said, causing Misty to turn away from Ash.

"I'm sure you will," Misty replied. "Our town's mall has _everything_." She chuckled.

"What about _you_?"

"Hmm... well, I'm not sure. Maybe straps, maybe a halter-neck. Depends what I find."

"Maybe you could put a pink flower accessory or something in your hair too."

"Hey, that's a good idea. I'll keep that one in mind."

Ash's heart thudded a couple of times in his chest. _She's gonna wear a dress with either straps or a halter-neck?_ he thought, feeling a mixture of excitement and panic. _That'll be... distracting. Sure, I wanna see her in it, but if I stare at her and she catches me... that could get awkward..._

* * *

Misty couldn't help but chuckle at May, who was happily painting a mental picture for her as to what she wanted her dress to look like; the girl could be so contradictory at times. She wasn't the world's biggest fan of shopping – and often got bored if they went to the same shopping mall too many times – but she could very easily get excited if there was something she really wanted to buy. _She_, Misty Waterflower, on the other hand, could never get tired of shopping and was notorious for buying things that she didn't need and would probably never even use. Ash should know, since he was usually the one carrying it.

She popped a fry into her mouth and glanced at the boy in question, who was listening quietly to May rambling about whether she should wear any accessories with her dress. It was then that the age-old question entered her mind another year on the run: should she get him something for Valentine's Day?

She'd been in love with him since she was ten years old – which she figured had probably started with her jealousy at May flirting with Ash after poor Rex had died – and had a crush on him since she was seven... and had never once had the courage to get him anything for this special day in February.

The problem with Ash was that he seemed to have a strange immunity to romance. He was so stupid that girls passed straight by his radar without his notice... unless she were to count Giselle, the only girl that he'd ever seemed remotely interested in... though he'd soon gotten over her after she'd snobbishly insulted both him, her and May by calling them Loser, Psycho and Geek respectively. She scowled at the memory, but then let it drop, knowing that it was useless to scowl about something that was in the past. After all, Ash was no longer interested in Giselle and the girl even seemed to have changed somewhat for the better over the years. She was certainly much less of a snob now.

Anyway, what if she _did_ get Ash a Valentine's present? What would be his reaction to it? That's what scared her the most. Would he laugh, believing it to be all one big joke? Would he get all awkward, not knowing quite what to say to her? Would his reaction be good or bad? Did he return her feelings or not? And, for that matter, was he even ready for a relationship? Years of Valentine's Days had gone by and, every single time, she'd pondered these exact same questions.

"Hey," May suddenly said to her, giggling, "what about Max? Wouldn't it be cute if he's bought something for Molly?"

Misty chuckled. "Oh, he won't have," she replied. "But yeah, it would be _adorable_."

Ash laughed, nearly choking on a mouthful of fries as he did so. When he cleared his throat, he took a sip of Pepsi, then smirked. "I bet you're gonna tease him about that, aren't you, May?"

"Moi?" May asked innocently. "Tease my baby brother about his young friend? _Never_."

"Tsk," Misty said with a smile on her face, "_May_..."

May closed her eyes and tilted her head upwards in a smug smile. "What?"

"Go easy on him. He's only nine, after all... and Molly's only six."

"I _know_... but Molly _obviously_ has a crush on 'Maxie', whether or not she knows it _herself_ yet..." She lowered her head, looked Misty in the eyes and smirked evilly, her sky blue eyes flashing with menace. "And what better time of year to tease the heck out of Max about his love life than _now_?"

Ash laughed again. "Aww, May, you're evil," he said.

May gave another smug smile. "Yeah, well, I'm certain Max has a thing for Molly. He's just denying it because of his age... and the fact that he knows I'd tease him mercilessly about it."

Misty shook her head, yet still couldn't keep the smile off her face; her friend was strangely amusing in her little antics. "You're an awful big sister," she said.

May beamed at her. "Why, thank you!"

Ash snorted as he inhaled another mouthful of fries. Once he swallowed them, he spoke. "So, what are you gonna _say_ to the little guy?" he asked.

May turned to him. "Oh, you know... just gonna ask him if he's bought his little _girlfriend_ a Valentine's present... and, if not, I'll help him get one if he wants." She stopped to snigger, but stifled it and continued. "And, when he blushes bright red and protests, I'll mention how cute he looks... and that, if _Molly_ were to see him like that, she'd be all over him in a second." She paused again, but couldn't seem to control herself this time and burst out laughing.

Misty couldn't help laughing along with her, as couldn't Ash, from the looks of things. Ah, laughs, they were always so delightfully contagious... and May, thanks to her bubbly personality, seemed to have a talent for inflicting a laugh on someone.

* * *

Drew had been seated at his usual table in the lunchroom, surrounded by three of his many fangirls – who always flirted shamelessly with him, watched him intently while he ate and talked for ages about stuff that he really couldn't care about – when he was suddenly struck by an urge to look elsewhere. He turned his head to peer around the lunchroom, more intent to find May and see what she was up to than anything else, until his eyes landed on a very familiar trio.

His green eyebrows rose slightly in surprise as he saw the three best friends laughing heartily about something and wondered vaguely what they were finding so amusing. A tiny prickling of sadness and jealously struck his heartstrings – since they were truly enjoying each other's company and having a good laugh at the same time, whereas he couldn't say that about _his_ present company – but he stubbornly fought it back down.

_No,_ he thought, his pride refusing to let him soften because of what he could never have, _don't allow yourself to feel jealous of May. She..._ He hesitated. _**She**__ should be feeling jealous of __**me**__, because of how popular I am..._ A wave of guilt hit him and he immediately cursed himself. No, he didn't mean that! Of course he didn't! Did he? Wait, yes! Yes, he did! Another wave of guilt hit him and he sighed through his nostrils, slightly annoyed with himself. No... no, he _didn't_ mean it...

"What's wrong, Drew-baby?" one girl asked.

His stomach churned horribly at the sound of that nickname. Yuck, he'd rather be called 'Meadow Head' than anything his fangirls called him. "Nothing," he muttered, returning to his food.

"Something's definitely wrong," another girl said worriedly. "You look miserable."

"Drew-kun?" a third girl asked. "Daijoubu desu ka?"

"Stop talking Japanese!" the first girl snapped. "No one can understand you!"

The Japanese girl averted her eyes and scowled. "Baka..."

Drew sighed and turned to his food, completely ignoring them; as far as he was concerned, they were _all_ idiots... every single _one_ of his ultra-annoying fangirls.

"So, anyway, Drew!" the second girl said sweetly. "Are you taking anyone to the dance?"

He continued eating his fries, not even bothering to look at her. "No," he replied simply.

"_Nobody_?" the first girl asked.

"Nope."

"You no fun, Drew-kun," the Japanese girl said sadly. "Why you no like take girls to dances?"

He paused a moment. "I prefer to go alone."

There was silence for a moment. "Oh, I get it!" the first girl said in a cheerful voice. "He prefers being Mr. Cool And Mysterious!"

"Oh, yeah!" the second girl said, sounding equally cheerful. "I see what you mean! He likes being the awesome lone wolf." She sighed dreamily. "That's what makes him so great."

"And flippy hair," the Japanese girl said. "No forget flippy hair."

Drew really wished that he didn't have to sit with these morons, but he could never get away with having a table to himself, like he really wanted; every time he sat down, he was ambushed by some sort of crazed fangirl group, whether they were shy, flirty or extremely chatty, as though his mere presence made their mouths run like faucets that someone had forgotten to turn off.

He once again turned towards May's group, noticing that they were now quietly finishing off their food and drinks, and felt another jolt in his heart at what a happy tight-knit group the three of them seemed to be, but once again ignored it. He was a man of pride and didn't like to feel pitiful emotions that made him feel weaker than he appeared to others.

Suddenly, a thought drifted across his mind: May. Would she be getting anybody something for Valentine's Day this year? Did she already have a special someone? The mere thought of that made his eyebrows tighten slightly; he didn't _want_ her to already have a love interest, but there wasn't much that he could do about it if she did. After all, they hadn't gone to the same elementary school, so who knew? He didn't know enough about her to know about that kind of thing.

"Drew-baby?" the first girl asked, causing him to cringe again. "You look distracted."

"Yeah," the second girl added, "you look kinda spaced out."

"Daijoubu-" the Japanese girl said, but stopped herself. "I mean... you okay?"

"Yeah..." Drew mumbled, not really interested in talking to them. Normally, he'd at least _attempt_ to look interested, but he simply wasn't in the mood today. "I'm fine..."

In truth, there was only _one_ girl that he'd be happy to hang around with at the Valentine's dance, since he actually _liked_ her and she wasn't one of his annoying fangirls. He smirked lightly; and he wouldn't really mind hanging out with her friends either... if they were okay with that, that is. He'd have to wait and see.


	33. Love is in the Air

Author's note: Howdy hey! I was originally gonna update my other three fics before writing this chapter... but I changed my mind as soon as I saw the review count! O... M...G. _One thousand_? _One thousand freaking reviews_? Wow. I literally squealed in shock when I saw it.

Thank you all so very very very much! I've never had so many reviews in my life! My two dreams on fanfiction were first to hit a hundred reviews and then to hit a thousand... and I've hit both! When I found out the news, I cracked open a Pomegranate Bacardi Breezer (which went volcanic and exploded, as though it knew that I was celebrating), played Caramelldansen on repeat and danced like an idiot. XD Truly, thank you.

I hope you enjoy this Valentine's Day chapter in return, 'cause you lovely folks deserve it! (And what better chapter to celebrate the 1000 reviews, right? That planned itself out nicely.)

(Oh and don't type '1000' in your review, 'cause it comes out as '10', which just looks weird. Haha. This stupid system doesn't allow more than two of the same letter/digit without something in-between them.)

**Chapter Thirty-three: Love is in the Air**

It was a few days after Drew had been harassed by both his _and_ Gary's fangirls – and Ash, Misty and May had spent lunchtime discussing what outfits they'd wanted to buy for the upcoming dance – and it was now Friday evening... but a very special Friday evening, because it was Valentine's Day.

Ash strode into the school gym beside his two best friends at around half six, tugging at the collar of his pink shirt as he did so. Man, the thing was uncomfortable... but Misty had whacked him on the back of the head the last time he'd tried to unbutton it. She'd said that she didn't want him to look untidy and he'd scoffed at her.

"Welcome," Mrs. Merrythought, who was Misty's English teacher, said pleasantly.

They all nodded and said 'thanks' in return before entering the building. As soon as Ash saw the decorations, he cringed slightly, though he knew that the girls would love what they were seeing; there were red Chinese lanterns hanging from the ceiling, red wallpaper on all the walls – which was covered with pink paper hearts – tables, including, once again, a large snack table – with pink tablecloths lined with white frills and a dark red vase filled with red tulips on each – and, once again, four chairs to each table.

"It's beautiful..." May said in awe.

"Isn't it?" Misty asked, sounding pleased.

"Heck no," Ash replied, turning to face her. "It's way too girly."

Misty scowled at him and he couldn't help but smirk at how easily he'd managed to annoy her.

"Hmph!" She turned her nose up at him and strutted past him. "Ash Ketchum, you have no taste."

"Yeah!" May agreed, dashing over to Misty's side and playfully sticking her tongue out at him. "No taste."

Ash was slightly annoyed by this, but only slightly. "Hey, I do _so_ have taste," he complained.

Misty chuckled. "Well, okay, _tonight_ you do..." she replied, "but only because you're wearing something almost every _other_ boy is wearing."

May laughed at him. He sighed and rolled his eyes, irritated, but not in the mood to come up with a reply; he was in too good a mood, despite the extremely girly decorations. After all, school dances were a special occasion and not a time to be arguing over pointless things. Besides, Misty was smiling, so _she_ obviously wasn't in the mood to fight either.

He glanced over their outfits as the laughing subsided and had to admit that the three of them had done very well when shopping for said outfits. Misty and May were both wearing dresses that fell past their knees – ending halfway to their ankles – and billowed in the slightest breeze... which, he had to admit, was a nice change, since he honestly couldn't remember the last time that either of them had _worn_ a dress.

May's dress was blood red with a circular neck and short sleeves that reached halfway to her elbows. Lying on top of the neckline was a necklace made of navy blue beads and on her feet were navy blue dolly shoes with navy blue bows near the toes. He thought that she looked very pretty in this outfit, especially since she'd chosen not to wear either her bandana or gloves to the dance.

Misty's dress was baby blue, with pictures of large pink lilies on the bottom of the skirt and a halter-neck, which left her shoulders bare. She'd opted to have her hair down for the dance, so it was currently pinned back with shiny light pink hairclips, and on her feet were light pink dolly shoes with light pink bows near the toes. Honestly, he thought that she looked absolutely gorgeous in this outfit. So much so that, every time he looked at her, he had to fight to stop himself from staring at her.

As for himself, he'd chosen to follow the crowd and wear a pink shirt with a black jacket, black pants and black leather shoes and, like May, had not worn his gloves. He'd wanted to wear his hat, but, of course, Misty had insisted on him leaving it behind. Instead, she'd spent a whole fifteen minutes brushing his hair, which he never bothered to brush himself. Needless to say, his hair was now neater than it'd ever been before, but those fifteen minutes had been very painful and had possibly scarred him for life.

"Come on!" May said excitedly. "Let's go sit down."

Misty chuckled again, making Ash's heart leap uncomfortably in his chest. "Okay. Let's go."

* * *

It was now seven o' clock and the gym was filled with smartly-dressed students. May was impressed as she glanced over every outfit; it seemed everyone had made a special effort for this Valentine's dance and, she had to admit, they'd all cleaned up pretty well.

As she sipped her pink strawberry-flavoured punch, she glanced over at Ash and snorted into her glass when she noticed that he'd successfully managed to undo the top button of his shirt and that Misty was scowling in the opposite direction. Evidently, the red head had realised what he'd done and had gotten annoyed at him, but perhaps thought it was a waste of her breath to tell him to button it up again.

"Hey, gang!" a cheerful voice said.

May looked to her side and smiled as she saw Gary strolling past with a group of beaming fangirls, all of whom were wearing fancy dresses of varying patterns and colours. Gary himself was wearing a similar outfit to Ash, except that his shirt was white – and buttoned up to the collar – and his jacket had a red corset in the left breast pocket.

"Hey, Gary," Misty replied pleasantly. "Enjoying the dance so far?"

He stopped by their table. "Heck yeah! But you three don't look like you are. Not gonna dance tonight?"

"I'm sure we will in a bit," May replied. "We're just relaxing right now."

"Pch. Who wants to relax at a dance? Come on, get yourselves a partner and dance! It's Valentine's Day!"

"Imagine me an' you..." the singer on the CD sang, "I do... I think about you day and night... It's only right..."

"Ooh, I love this song!" one of Gary's fangirls crooned, dragging said boy away by the arm. "Let's go dance!"

"Yeah, let's!" another said.

"Certainly, girls," Gary replied smoothly. He winked at Ash, Misty and May. "Catch you later, guys." He then walked away to the dance floor.

There was silence for a moment. "You know," Misty said, attracting May's attention, "maybe he's right. We don't wanna waste the whole night sitting down." She smiled. "Who wants to dance?"

Honestly, May didn't feel like dancing at this particular moment, so she saw this as the perfect opportunity to get Ash and Misty to spend some time together on the most romantic day of the year. She tried not to smirk, as it would look suspicious.

"Nah, I'm fine, thanks," she replied. "I think I'll hang out here for a while. I'm sure _Ash_ wouldn't mind dancing with you, though, would you, Ash?"

Ash suddenly looked startled and, for a fleeting moment, she felt guilty for forcing that upon him like she had. However, it soon faded away as she saw Ash blush slightly and glance at Misty.

"... Ash?" Misty seemed to be hesitating. "Wanna dance?"

He was silent for a few moments before he smiled. "Sure, Mist," he replied.

May smirked lightly to herself as she watched Ash and Misty stand up and head towards the dance floor. On the way, Misty paused a moment, as if contemplating something, before Ash grabbed her hand and led her forward with a smile. May's eyes widened and her mouth curved into an amused grin; well, she certainly hadn't been expecting _that_.

* * *

Drew, dressed in a black pants suit with a buttoned-up pink shirt, weaved his way through the crowd of smartly-dressed students, dodging round annoying fangirls and searching for a particular person. As soon as he spotted her, he noticed instantly that she was alone. This was good, because this sort of thing was always easier to do when she was alone. He edged a bit closer, but halted when he noticed two very peculiar things. One, she was wearing _red_... the colour that she hadn't worn since before her birthday. Two, she wasn't wearing a bandana or gloves. Not once in all the time that he'd known her had he ever seen her without her trademark bandana – whether it was red _or_ green – and gloves. It made him falter for a moment, because he was suddenly realising that she looked absolutely beautiful in her current outfit.

Shaking it off, he approached her and sat down in the empty seat next to her. "Hey, May," he said.

Her head darted in his direction in alarm before her expression settled into a placid smile. "Oh, hey, Drew," she replied.

He decided to play smug. "Heh, for once, your outfit doesn't look half bad on you."

May frowned slightly, but a light blush appeared on her face at the same time. "Um, thanks."

He flipped his fringe, which he really loved doing. "Well, I don't plan on sticking around long." He held up the red rose that he'd been hiding under the table. "So here."

Her eyes widened and she blinked at the rose for a moment before slowly taking from him. "Oh! Thanks."

He stood up and walked away, aiming to get out of the building as fast as possible. "Happy Valentine's Day."

He headed through the crowds and straight towards the door, feeling – just like at the Christmas dance – disappointed at his cowardice, but he knew that, once his feet started walking away, there was no stopping them.

On his way towards the door, he passed by the Japanese girl who'd been sitting with him at lunchtime a few days ago, and noticed how upset she appeared to be. He sighed irritably and kept walking; earlier that night, she'd said "Suki desu" to him while blushing furiously and holding out a heart-shaped box of chocolates. Now, he didn't really know what 'suki desu' meant, but he guessed that it was a profession of love or something. When he'd turned down the chocolates, she'd ran off crying.

"Drew! Wait a minute!"

He stopped in surprise and turned round to see May jogging towards him, her red dress flapping round her legs. Now, why had she chased after him?

"May?"

She took a few breaths to calm herself. "Um, would you...?" She blushed. "Would you, um...?"

He raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. "Would I what?"

She clung onto the rose with both hands, glancing in another direction rather sheepishly. "Would you... like to dance with me?"

He felt his heart stop in pure shock; had she just asked him to _dance_ with her? Him? But... he didn't dance! But, with _her_, he... but what about his crazed fangirls? He glanced around the gym, searching for any girls who may be glaring at May, and, fortunately, he didn't find any. He looked back at the girl in question and realised that yes, he _did_ want to dance with her... very much so... but there were so many things wrong with that. For one, he'd be putting her at risk of rabid fangirls who didn't like seeing him showing preference when it came to other girls... and she simply didn't have the attitude that she'd need to fight them all off. Another reason was the niggling feeling that he was a loner and he was always meant to be one. It didn't suit him to be dancing with her.

"I... don't really dance." _Man, that sounded lame..._ he thought.

May beamed at him. "Aww, come on! Please?" She waved the rose in his face. "It's the least I can do for the Valentine's present."

He huffed, turning his face away from her. "That wasn't a Valentine's present." _Liar._

She giggled. "Oh, so it's for Ginger again, huh?"

He smirked, but couldn't meet her eyes. "Something like that."

"Come on!" She grabbed his arm and tugged on it. "Dance!"

He was about to refuse the offer, but paused for a moment, suddenly remembering the last time that he'd refused one of her offers. He'd thought that he'd been doing the right thing when he'd turned down the chance to go to her birthday party and had regretted it ever since. He didn't want to go through that again... so, maybe, it was time for him to listen to his heart, instead of his head?

He finally sighed and gave in. "Oh, alright."

She beamed again, looking thoroughly pleased with his answer. "Yay!"

He walked with her towards the dance floor, not realising that she was dragging him straight towards Ash and Misty. As soon as the two of them saw him and May together, he felt rather awkward, as they were wearing perfectly identical expressions of shock.

* * *

After a while of dancing various different ways with Ash – and watching May do the same with Drew – Misty decided to go and sit back down. Ash and May followed her without hesitation, but she noticed that Drew was hanging back. Now, she wasn't terribly fond of the guy, but, since May had been dancing with him, she thought she'd be polite. After all, if May was warming up to him, what was the harm in giving him a chance?

"Hey, Drew?" she asked.

He looked at her. "Hmm?" he replied.

She put on her best smile for him. "Wanna come sit with us?"

His eyes widened and he blinked stupidly at her for a moment. She had to stop herself from sniggering, because he was currently reminding her very much of Ash. "Uh, sure. Thanks."

The four of them walked over to their table and sat down together. She and Ash were next to each other and Drew and May were opposite them, Drew being directly opposite Ash and May being directly opposite Misty.

"Hey, Drew," Ash said pleasantly. "Welcome to the table."

"Yeah, thanks..."

Misty eyed the rose in May's hand. She'd seen it on the dance floor, but hadn't needed to ask where the brunette had gotten it from.

"It's every little thiiiing you do..." the singer on the CD sang, "that makes me fall in loooove with you..."

"You know..." May said tentatively, "I was thinking about something while I was dancing."

Everyone turned to look at her. "What's that, May?" Ash asked.

"Well..." She glanced down at the rose, then back up again. "What would you guys say to Drew... you know... sitting with us... and hanging out with us... at school?"

Misty stared at her, unable to believe what she was hearing... and, from the corner of her eye, she could see that Ash and Drew were both doing the same. Well, it looks like _none_ of them were expecting that.

She finally found her voice again. "Well..." She glanced at Drew. "I _guess_ he can... if he wants to." She looked at Ash. "Ash?"

He looked back at her. "Huh?" he asked, looking completely stunned, as though he'd been electrocuted mere moments before. His face then relaxed. "Uh, yeah... I _guess_ so... if he doesn't have anyone _else_ he wants to sit with or anything." He looked at Drew. "Would you like to?"

Drew was silent for a moment, apparently deep in thought about something. Then, for one second, Misty could swear that she saw a flash of some powerful emotion in his lime green eyes before he instantly masked it.

He flipped his hair. "Yeah, sure," he replied. "I guess it couldn't hurt."

May smiled, suddenly looking very happy, and Misty couldn't help but feel happy too. True, she didn't know Drew very well, but there was something comforting about having him hang out with them at school from now on. Maybe she could learn something about the 'stoic samurai' that she'd never known about before. Yes, there was always the risk of him ruining the mood between the three best friends, but she was more than capable of booting him out of the group if he caused any trouble. Of that, she was certain.

She glanced at Ash to try and read his thoughts on the situation, but he seemed rather occupied with staring at the rose in May's hand. Her thoughts now distracted, she wondered why. He then glanced at _her_, glanced back at the rose, then reached across the table. She was immensely confused about these actions until his fingers wrapped around one of the red tulips in the vase on the table. Pulling it out, he stared at it for a minute, as if pondering what to do with it.

She couldn't take this anymore. "Ash?" she asked.

He looked up at her in surprise, then forced a grin and held out the tulip. "Uh, here!" he said.

She blushed at the thought of Ash giving her a flower. "F-For me?" She slowly held out a hand and took the tulip from him.

"Yeah!" He nervously scratched the back of his head. "It's, uh... a Valentine's present! Happy Valentine's Day!" He paused a moment, blushing slightly. "You know, _Drew_ gave _May_ a flower, so I thought I'd give _you_ one too!"

Misty's heart soared in her chest. It may have been done in a very Ash-like way – giving her something that he'd found, rather than buying her something – and maybe only done because he'd felt left out, much like he'd done on Thanksgiving Day, but he'd given her a Valentine's Day present! She paused; oh, now it was on! There was no way that she'd let him beat her at this.

She smirked. "Yeah?" She reached over and plucked a tulip from the vase before holding it out to him. "Well, then, here's _your_ Valentine's present. Happy Valentine's Day!"

He blinked at it for a moment before grinning and taking it from her. "Thanks!"

Misty looked at May, beaming happily to her, and the brunette laughed in response. "Well, isn't that cute?" she said. She pouted playfully. "But I'll bet Drew's feeling left out now. He's the only one without a flower." She reached over and grabbed a tulip before holding it out to Drew. "Happy Valentine's Day, Drew!"

To Misty's great amusement, a very small blush appeared on Drew's face. He then plucked the rose from May's grasp and turned his face away in embarrassment. "Thanks."

"You can try... to resist..." the singer on the CD sang, "try to hiiiide from my kiss... but you know... but you knoooow that you... can't fight the moonlight."

As conversation struck up again within their slightly-enlarged group, Misty glanced back down at the tulip in her hand and felt herself glow on the inside, delighted that she'd gotten a Valentine's present from Ash.

At that moment, she could honestly say that she'd never had more fun at a school dance than she'd had at _this_ one. She knew that it was because it was the Valentine's dance, but, somehow, she was enjoying it much more than the previous _two_ Valentine's dances that she'd been to. Perhaps it was because of the tulip? Perhaps it was because of the dancing? Perhaps it was because Drew had joined their group? Or perhaps it was all three.

She glanced up at the three preteens around her, all of whom were wearing varying smiles and blushes, and felt a strange sensation tugging at her heartstrings. She couldn't explain it, but she could sense that, with Drew now among them, a new revolution was set to begin. 'The Three Musketeers' had now become 'The Four Musketeers'.


	34. Trouble in Paradise

Author's note: Hi! *silence as readers stare at me* Okay, yes, I know... I'm awful, I'm sorry. The poor explanation for why it's taken so long to update is at the bottom of my profile page.

In other news, this is the last chapter of Blue Moon Junior High. I'm sorry, but I'm really sick of it and just don't want to write any more for it. Maybe I should give it to someone else to finish.

...

Ha! Fooled you! XD Sorry, was that too evil of me?

Anyway, as for university (which I obviously got into, but never got to mention), I'm loving it. :) Heading into my second year, where I'll be sharing a house with random students that I don't know. Lol. Should be fun... and a whole lot of hard work. Lol.

Any and all ideas for upcoming chapters are welcomed and appreciated. :)

**Chapter Thirty-four: Trouble in Paradise**

It was a couple of days after the Valentine's dance – at which not only had Drew become an official member of May's small group, but all four members of the group had gotten a red flower for a present – and it was now Monday morning.

Drew casually strolled down the corridor, hands in his pockets, towards his locker, making sure to look cool for any drooling fangirls that he passed along the way. As he walked past the Japanese girl whose chocolates he'd refused at the dance, he noticed that she was timidly looking away from him. He figured that she at least deserved some sort of apology, so he stared at her until she looked up at him. When she did, he gave her a curt nod. She nodded back and blushed.

Focusing his eyes back on where he was going, he rounded the next corner, but, upon noticing a certain someone, halted in his tracks for a minute. There she was, the girl who had convinced her two best friends to allow him to hang out with them. No, he certainly hadn't forgotten about that. Quite the contrary, actually; he'd been thinking about it all weekend. He was thankful, sure, but he was also wary. Ash and Misty seemed to have warmed to him slightly, but perhaps not as much as he'd like, seeing as he'd be sitting with them at recess.

Taking a deep breath and straightening himself out, he strolled over to where May was pulling her morning books from her locker. As she glanced up at him, he leaned on his own locker, attempting to look smug, but not quite feeling it.

"Morning, Citrus," he said.

She didn't look impressed, which he found amusing. "Oh, ha ha..." she replied. "Still carrying that on, Meadow Head?"

He smirked wider, feeling his confidence slowly filtering back into him. "Hmph... of course I am. 'Citrus' can't help but suit you."

May closed her locker and leaned against it, clutching her books to her chest and smiling. "Just as 'Meadow Head' can't help but suit _you_."

"Now, just because I've got naturally green hair..."

"That looks like grass." May really looked like she was trying not to snigger now.

The smirk never left his face. "Tch. Hey, don't be dissing the green hair."

May beamed. "Aww, who's dissing? I'll bet it's nice to have funny-coloured hair." She paused, looking thoughtful. "I mean, mine's kinda boring, right? Brown." She smiled again. "Can't get a more common hair colour than that!"

Her smile was so infectious that Drew couldn't help but smile back at her. "Yeah, guess _so_." He paused. "So, what's got _you_ in such a good mood today? You've hardly been offended by anything I've said."

She grinned at him, showing off her teeth. "'Cause I'm excited for recess! Can't wait to see how things'll go down with you, Ash and Misty!" She paused. "You _are_ still gonna sit with us, right?"

Drew stared incredulously at her face, which looked so unsure, yet so hopeful. Jeez, how the heck could he say 'no' to that face? He half-smirked. "Yeah, yeah... I might as well."

May's face lit up so bright that she blushed. "Aww, thanks, Drew!"

The change was shocking, to say the least. He had to turn away to hide his own tiny blush. "Sure. No problem."

* * *

May trudged tiredly out of the locker rooms and towards her locker, thankful to whatever deity existed that her morning classes were finally over. Jeez, she'd been so happy that morning too. After managing to convince Ash and Misty to allow Drew to hang out with them, she'd really been looking forward to recess. Her two morning classes, however, had been hell on Earth.

The moment that she'd stepped into homeroom, she'd immediately been bombarded with accusations and questions relating to how she'd danced with Drew the previous Friday. Many couldn't believe that she'd have the nerve, others wondered why _she_ was so special that he'd danced with _her_ after refusing _them_ and others believed that she'd had him under some form of mind-control. Brianna was so furious about the situation that she'd refused to look at her, giving her the cold shoulder all homeroom.

It hadn't been any better in Art. She'd understood perfectly what the teacher had been asking of her, but hadn't actually been able to do much. The other girls in the class wouldn't stop hounding her with comments about her and Drew. A few other girls had even tried to sabotage her still-life painting.

P.E. had been exactly the same, except that the few malicious girls in the class had used a much more painful method to show her how angry they were with her. It had just been her luck that the teacher had decided for them to play dodge-ball that day.

As she placed her P.E. kit back into her locker, she winced at the twitches in her muscles. Everywhere ached, but there was nothing that she could really do about it. She just hoped that Ash and Misty – and maybe even Drew, if she was lucky – would find a way to cheer her up.

"Hello again, Citrus," a familiar voice said.

She turned to face Drew, who, oddly enough, didn't quite seem his usual cocky self. In fact, he looked a bit haggard as he placed his Science and English books into his locker. His fringe also looked slightly ruffled, like he'd mussed it up in a fit of stress.

"Hey, Meadow Head," she replied. "What's wrong with _you_?"

"... Fangirl problems..." he grumbled as he locked his locker and leaned on it. He then glanced away from her and scowled.

She sighed, realising the similarities. "Ah. Were they asking about the dance?"

"Yeah." He turned to glance questioningly at her. "They hound you too?"

She smiled weakly as she locked her locker. "Yep. Wouldn't stop, in fact." She winced in pain.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "You okay?"

She waved him off. "Yeah, yeah... just a little sore from dodge-ball."

He frowned again. "Fangirls?"

"Yeah, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"But that's bullying, isn't it?"

"Don't be silly! It's hardly bullying. Just a game, that's all." She tried to giggle, but it seemed to die halfway through. She cursed herself for that. "I was just careless, being hit as much as I was."

He stared at her for a few moments, still frowning, before he sighed. "Okay, whatever."

She smiled brighter, in a much better mood now. "Hey, come on. Let's go sit together!"

He gave her that long, hard stare again. It unnerved her slightly. "You know, the fangirls are bound to give you an even _harder_ time for that."

She scowled at him, suddenly feeling offended. "Hey, I said I can take care of myself!"

He shrugged, offering her a slight smirk before turning to lock his locker. "Whatever you say, Citrus."

She huffed and glanced away. "Stupid Meadow Head..."

* * *

Drew felt tense as he and May approached the table where Ash and Misty were currently sitting, having a lengthy discussion about something. Not only was he finally going to be sitting with a group of ordinary people that weren't members of his fan club, but one glance around the lunchroom told him that almost all female eyes were on him. This probably wouldn't bode well.

"Hey, guys!" May said cheerfully.

Ash and Misty looked up and smiled. "Hey, May!" Misty replied.

"Hey, Drew," Ash said pleasantly. "Take a seat."

May quickly hurried over to the seat opposite Misty, so Drew casually made his way over to the seat opposite Ash. As he sat down, he noticed, unnervingly, that Ash was grinning like a loon at him, whilst Misty looked slightly suspicious, but was keeping up her smile.

There was suddenly an awkward silence amongst the group. As Drew glanced from face to face, he could see that the three friends were having a hard time thinking of something to say. Inwardly, he sighed, as he knew full well that this was _his_ fault, simply by being there and disrupting the norm.

"So, uh, Drew..." Misty cleared her throat and rested her arms on the table, attempting to look composed. "Are you a fan of Pokemon?"

Drew shrugged. "Yeah," he replied, not willing to look too enthusiastic.

Misty smiled, looking more at ease. "Oh, that's good. Got a favourite?"

_Huh..._ he thought, _I guess May never told her what we discussed back in December... when I revealed that I knew her real name._ He fought to keep himself from smirking at the thought. "Roselia and Flygon."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Why?"

He flipped his hair. "Roselia is beautiful, Flygon is powerful and both are elegant and graceful... much like my surname." He paused. "Roserade isn't bad, either."

Misty looked genuinely fascinated, which pleased him. "Huh..." She smiled. "Well, I love water-types. Pretty much all of them, really." Her eyes suddenly lit up as she took on a very girly pose. "But, most of all, I love Tentacool and Tentacruel! They're so soft and squishy! And they're ninety-nine percent water!" She sighed happily. "They're adorable."

He blinked. _Adorable?_ He couldn't see it himself.

Ash looked thoughtful. "I don't really _have_ a favourite," he said. He grinned. "I like _all_ Pokemon! Mostly the really powerful ones!"

Misty snapped out of her trance. "Hey!" She excitedly picked an eraser off the table. "What do you think of this?" She showed them the picture of a Buneary on it. "Isn't it the cutest? I bought it over the weekend."

"Aww, it's adorable..." May replied, "but don't you usually go for water-types?"

"Well, yeah, but this one was just so cute that I couldn't resist it!"

"It's not as great as mine, though." Ash held up a Pikachu eraser. "But Misty's got this weird idea in her head since buying it, haven't you, Mist?"

"Hmph." Misty put the Buneary eraser back on the table. "It's not a weird idea! See this?" She plucked the Pikachu eraser out of Ash's hand.

"Hey!"

"Here." She placed it on the table, next to the Buneary eraser, and pushed the two together. "Wouldn't they just make the cutest couple?"

"Oh, don't be ridiculous! They're Pokemon! Pokemon don't make cute couples!"

"Of course they do!"

Ash laughed. "Misty, they don't even exist!"

Misty puffed her cheeks out in annoyance. "I _know_ that... but look at them!" She pointed a few details out with her index finger. "They're the same height... they both have long ears... they have similar eyes... _and_, Mr. Pokemon Master..." She leaned towards Ash's face and smirked. "They can breed!"

Ash turned his face away and huffed. "Big deal."

Misty stuck her tongue out at him and pocketed the Buneary eraser. "If they were real, they'd make an adorable couple." She paused, looking thoughtful. "In fact... if they were real..." She beamed. "I'd be tempted to catch one of each just to pair them up!"

Ash snorted. "That's stupid. If _I_ caught them, the _last_ thing I'd be thinking of doing is pairing them up." He smirked. "I'd be too busy training them for battle!"

Misty didn't look impressed. "Yeah, well, you have no heart."

Ash looked affronted. "I do so have a heart!"

Misty turned away, folding her arms. "No, you don't... and no sense of romance either!"

"I do too!"

"No, you don't."

"Yes, I do!"

"Nuh-uh."

"Uh-huh!"

Losing interest rapidly, Drew glanced over at May, who also didn't seem too engaged in the current conversation. In fact, she was far too preoccupied with nervously glancing around the room. Following her line of sight _again_ reminded him how unhappy he was making his fangirls by sitting with them. He sighed. Well, it wasn't like he cared whether or not they liked it, but, if they took their anger out on Ash, Misty and May... he wouldn't like that. Not to mention, Misty would probably boot him swiftly out of the group and he'd have to go back to annoying fangirls taking turns to sit with him.

* * *

May sighed as she placed her English and Math books in her locker and locked it; Drew's fangirls had been at it again in her afternoon classes. Well, the ones that weren't in her Art and P.E. classes, anyway; _they'd_ already given up. It was the ones who were only in her English and Math classes that had decided to pester her.

Knowing that Drew would be showing up again soon, she leaned on her locker and waited patiently for him. Idly, she wondered how well _he_ was fairing. After all, he'd said only that morning that his fangirls were pestering _him_ just as much as they were pestering _her_. She glanced at the corner that Drew usually walked around to reach his locker and paused as she saw Brianna peering around it at her. Her face held no expression as her green eyes pierced relentlessly into May's. May felt unnerved; there was no smile, not even a glare. She was completely expressionless. After a few moments, her face disappeared.

May sighed, suddenly depressed. Brianna had been her friend since the first time that she'd entered her homeroom. The only thing that ever seemed to come between them was Drew... much like the time when she'd yelled at her over that first rose. She'd said something about a psychic and destiny.

_What am I going to do?_ she thought. _I really don't wanna lose her as a friend. I also don't want every other girl to hate me over something so silly..._

* * *

Drew wasn't sure what to feel as he placed his lunch tray on the table and sat down. The stares from his fangirls had only increased since recess and many were still trying to get him to explain what on Earth was going on. It seemed that they had assumed he would only hang out with Ash, Misty and May at recess and that would be it. One girl had even asked him if May was simply paying him back for allowing her to dance with him. He'd ignored her, so she'd simply assumed that was true. However, by this point, many girls that she'd provided the theory to felt that May had sufficiently paid him back, so they were wondering why he was still hanging out with her.

May placed her tray next to his and sat down beside him. She was smiling, but it looked slightly strained, as if she was trying to stay positive, but having a tough time of it. He couldn't help but feel a bit of sympathy for her, as he knew exactly what she was going through. They were _both_ having a rough day.

"You okay there, Citrus?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

"You know..." Misty said, waving her fork at him, "I've never understood you and your nicknames."

"Yeah," Ash agreed, shrugging. "I mean, you know her name's 'May' now, right? So, why not just _call_ her 'May'?"

Despite himself, Drew smirked. "I _do_..." he replied, "sometimes."

Misty narrowed one of her eyes at him. "You just prefer giving her weird nicknames," she said.

"Pretty much."

"Meadow Head just likes being awkward," May said playfully.

Ash, who'd just started chewing a sausage, snorted. "Nice nickname you have, eh, Drew?" he said. Swallowing the sausage, he continued. "It suits you."

Drew lowered his eyelids at him. "Ha ha..." he replied.

"Then again..." Misty said, looking thoughtful, "May's nickname kinda suits _her_ too."

Ash laughed. "Yeah!" he agreed. "Every time I look at the colours, I get hungry." He paused for thought. "Makes me crave oranges and limes... or maybe kiwis... and I don't even _eat_ much fruit..." He pointed at Drew. "That's _your_ fault!"

There was a pause as all three of Ash's group members stared at him. Then, suddenly, Misty and May started laughing and, by chain reaction, Ash started laughing along with them. Although Drew wasn't much of a laugher, he couldn't help but smirk at the good mood that had spread throughout the group.

Suddenly, it didn't matter so much that no one else was happy with the arrangements. What mattered at that exact moment was that _he_ was happy. He was with people who weren't senselessly admiring him for whatever selfish reason. For once, he felt that the group of people he was sitting with could actually like him for who he was, rather than what he looked like or what he achieved. True, they weren't at that stage of friendship yet. After all, he had yet to fully gain the trust of Ash and Misty... but he somehow felt that it was possible sometime in the future.

When he was sure that none of them were looking at him, he allowed himself a genuine smile. _Only time will tell, I guess..._ he thought.


	35. NOT A CHAPTER

... Hi, guys. Been a while, hasn't it? Yeah, I know. I'm a scumbag. Scumbag ravengal. Says she'll never abandon a story. Abandons it anyway.

I'm not gonna lie. I can't find it in me to care about this story anymore... and a small part of me just died while I was typing that.

I _want_ to care, but the humans on the show just don't interest me anymore. Misty hasn't been seen since Chronicles, Ash has gotten boring and annoying and May was only interesting when she was around Drew. I dunno. The humans have gotten flatter, while the Pokemon have gotten more rounded. It's sad.

ANYWAY!

**NEWS BULLETIN!**

The lovely author known as **fawkespower123** has offered to continue this story! That's right! So keep an eye out for that, if you're still interested.

I'm on the fence about allowing anyone else to try it, but I suppose it could be fun to see alternate versions of the story. (shrugs) Just PM me about it first, kay?

Again, I'm really sorry. Part of me wanted to keep on trucking, but I can't bring myself to like this story anymore. Urgh! It's so annoying. I didn't wanna be "that author", but look. I totally am now.

You don't have to reply to this message. Just know that, if you still care, **fawkespower123** will be continuing where I left off.

Last of all, this fic was a huge milestone for me. The painfully slow romance was inspired by my own life... experiencing all the joys and pains of chasing a love that was never meant to be. Strangely, though, it helped me to improve my writing skills. Funny, that.

It's unfortunate that I lost most of you through discontinuing this fic, but it's understandable. Regardless, I wish you all the best of luck in whatever you do... and thank you for all the lovely compliments of old that made me what I am today! You guys were swell fans.


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